Preparing for a Threat
by Green Jean Girl
Summary: The Twilight gang recieves a visit that could possibly change their lives and what does reading books have to do with anything?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, well here we go with the first chapter. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer, I own no one mentioned here.**

Chapter 1:

Bella was nervous, it was obvious even when I couldn't read her mind. Still, her stress was understandable considering her cousin was coming over and there was the chance of him suspecting something while he stayed with Charlie, who we often visited now that Bella had her thirst well under control and Renesmee had stopped growing.

"Don't worry love, with Charlie here to help us, he won't suspect a thing. We've kept our secret for this long, we'll be fine. And I thought you said he was too carefree to notice anything weird," the last part was a joke and Bella gave me a faint smile.

Though she didn't believe me, she didn't argue either so I took this as a good sign and wrapped her hands in my own. I myself was slightly anxious, yet curious. Alice and I had come to the conclusion that Bella's cousin was probably a werewolf considering he was as shielded from Alice as Jacob and Renesmee were. Trust Bella to be related to a werewolf, of course having one as a friend wouldn't be enough.

I smiled as my thoughts turned to my daughter; she'd really grown amazingly fast in the year since the Volturi came and was now posing as the newest adopted daughter of Carlisle and Esme. We'd agreed that she would use the same cover if it was needed to fool Bella's cousin, that is, if he didn't turn out to be a werewolf who would immediately be able to tell that we were vampires.

I shook the thought out of my head and instead tilted it towards the sound of an approaching car, definitely Charlie's cruiser. Bella nodded and we started wondering outside while at the same time listening to the conversation going on inside the car.

"…actually, I was kidnapped and forced to take part in the war between my kidnappers' and my dad's company. They've been competing for long time," a man's voice with an American accent explained and I raised an eyebrow for a few seconds before starting to glare into the distance. I felt Bella stiffen in my arms as she placed one hand on my chest, relaxing me slightly as her contact covered eyes studied my face.

"I can't hear his thoughts," I growled and Bella let out a short, jingling laugh at my statement. We turned our attention back to the car, our own conversation having taken only three seconds.

"I thought your father got lost at sea before you were born?" Charlie asked, sounding uncomfortable as he recalled the conversation he and Renee had had about her sister's missing lover.

"Um, yeah, well, my half-brother is running the company so…" he trailed off, leaving me even more frustrated. It was obvious he was lying, but why?

"Oh, I see," Charlie said rather awkwardly as he glanced to the side. I caught sight of black hair before his mind started dimming, like it always did when his thoughts got really personal, making it almost impossible for me to hear his thoughts. All I picked up was the worry, sadness and anger that was coating the edges of his thoughts.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked as she once again studied my face.

"Charlie's worried about something…" I hesitated, suddenly fearing for Bella's safety, as ridiculous as it sounded. Bella just smiled, pecking me on the cheek and squeezing my arm in a comforting manner. I couldn't help smiling in return. I slipped my hand into hers and we watched together as the police cruiser pulled up in front of the car and I got my first good look at Bella's cousin as he stepped out of the car.

He was a tanned teenager, definitely not a vampire, with shaggy black hair that had strange grey steaks in it, and green eyes that seemed to hold the ocean in them. Even with those feature though, I was immediately reminded of the first time I saw Carlisle. Bella's cousin seemed to radiate power and his feature held the beauty vampires were famous for.

"Wow…" Bella breathed but we both stiffened seconds later. _Edward, _Bella's thoughts suddenly entered my mind, sounding slightly alarmed. I pulled Bella closer to me as I took in the new arrival's blood and Bella stopped breathing in fear of attacking her cousin.

It was delicious, almost as tempting as Bella's blood which, frankly, scared me. I glanced over at my wife and noted that she looked stiff, but her mind told me that she'd be able to handle herself. I looked back at Bella's cousin who had proceeded to moving to the back of the car to heft his bags out of the boot. I felt my body move slightly in front of Bella when he turned his gaze on us and I caught sight of all the scars across his body.

He blinked for a second, shrugged and started to approach us. I suppressed a growl as he approached us with the graceful agility and ease of a poised panther. Strange for a human, if that's what he was…

"Bella, long time no see," he grinned and I was started by the innocence and sincerity that was suddenly displayed on his face, not even I was that good an actor.

"Yeah, good to see you again," Bella agreed as she stepped out from behind me to hug her cousin, using the left over air to converse with him but I knew she would have to breathe again soon if she wanted to continue talking to him. _He seems dangerous, _Bella observed as she passed me and my body automatically tensed. _But I'll be okay, we've known each other since we were five_, she added before closing her mind off again. "How've you been?" Bella questioned as she hugged him.

"Oh, you know, got kidnapped a few times, blew up some schools and national monuments, the usual," he answered, still grinning and slightly reminding me of Jacob in the process. I blinked, "the usual"?

Bella's cousin's eyes shifted to me and I felt defensive as he approached me, what the heck was wrong with this guy?

"You must be Edward, Bella's new husband, my name's Percy, it's nice to meet you," the guy said as he held out his hand and smiled.

"You too," I lied, still edgy as I tried to figure out what he was.

"I have to admit, I never pictured Bella as the type to get married early, but I suppose people can surprise you…" I detected a deeper meaning to the statement and felt once again frustrated that I couldn't read his mind.

"Percy, you'll be staying in Bella's room, you want me to show you were it is?" Charlie questioned as he joined us on the porch.

"No, I think I still remember the way," Percy said as he turned to smile at Charlie before making his way into the house.

_Is he one of you?_ Charlie thought to me, afraid Percy might hear otherwise. I shook my head in response, surprised that he'd caught on so quickly.

"No, and his not a werewolf either," Bella added with a shake of her head, probably having realized what Charlie had asked of me.

"I don't know what to think anymore, the guy's got worse luck than you, Bells," Charlie admitted, running a tired hand through his hair. I raised an eyebrow, unable to believe that someone could be more accident prone than Bella.

"Come on dad, it can't be that bad," Bella chided, seemingly well aware of her previous bad luck.

"Don't look so sceptical Bells, it's possible and that kid proved it," Charlie stated in a weary voice. "I'll tell you over coffee," Charlie said after a moment, even though he knew that we didn't drink coffee. "Percy doesn't seem like a bad kid and he's always friendly when he comes to visit but for some reason Sally has trouble keeping him in one school for long. He's here to redo his last year because he was kidnapped for a company rivalry, or at least, that's what he told me, but I can't believe it, can you?" Charlie sighed and glanced towards the stairs before continue.

"Anyway, Sally's been running out of places to put him and one of her friends suggested that it might be better if he leaves New York for a while. Of course your mother jumped right in and said that he should stay here for a while since Forks High is small enough that the teachers will be able to help him with his dyslexia and so on," Charlie explained as he sat down at the kitchen table after putting on the coffee machine.

The last part I only half paid attention to considering the fact that the smell of a dead animal suddenly stirred the air. I frowned in distaste as I tried to figure out what could've caused the smell. The next second there was the sound of glass shattering and loud banging along with someone saying something in what I assumed to be Greek, though I could be sure. Charlie shot up off his seat and started hurrying towards the stairs.

"Percy?" he called up in a worried tone. A voice, which I now recognized as Percy's, said another few words in Greek that I doubted were to polite, before calling in a strained and slightly nervous voice.

"I'm fine, Charlie, just…had a disagreement with the window," Percy informed us and we gave each other sceptical looks before heading up the stairs. There was the sound of snarling followed by a strange hiss, both of which made me want to enter the room faster.

I watched in stunned silence as Charlie opened the door to Bella's old room to find it halfway destroyed. The wooden desk had been thrown over, the stuffing sticking out of the pillows like a discarded teddy bear and the small window that I had once used as my door, shattered. The most shocking of all though was Percy standing in the middle of the ruined bedroom clutching his bleeding shoulder which I could easily smell.

"Look I can…" Percy started to say as he backed up wearily but unfortunately he tripped and was sent tumbling backwards, hitting his head between the bed and desk and passing out cold. I felt guilty when I realized that Bella wasn't with Charlie and she probably smelled the blood and left before it could influence her.

Charlie seemed to have been struck dumb at the sight before us and I wasn't faring much better.

_Edward! _Alice's thought shook me out of my stupor and my head automatically turned to the direction her thoughts were coming from, they were almost at the house.

"Charlie, could you get him onto the bed, my family's on their way so I'll have Carlisle check on him in a moment," I stated before flashing down stairs and stopping next to me wife.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I heard my family's thoughts approaching, their body's not in sight yet.

"Slightly shaken, but… I don't understand… how did he end up bleeding?" she mused and I grimaced at the fact that I didn't have an answer.

"I don't know, he hit his head and passed out when we opened the door," I explained even though she probably knew it already. I couldn't help smiling slightly. "He really is as bad as you," I teased, grinning. She sent me a playful glare which I brushed off, instead wrapping my arm around her waist.

_Edward, look we brought you guys a present, _Alice's voice sang in my head and the picture of ten books bound in different shades of green and blue, appeared in her mind.

"What's this about Alice?" I asked out loud and a few seconds later; Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Jacob and my daughter stopped in front of us, Jacob quickly went behind the house and changed back into his human form.

Alice looked agitated as her eyes travelled quickly towards Bella's bedroom before focusing back on Bella and I.

"I didn't see it coming but these books were sitting on the front porch when we came back from hunting, and it had a note with it," she explained in a fast voice, making it obvious that these continuous unseen things were unsettling her. She pulled it out of her handbag and held it out, looking uncharacteristically perplexed.

_To the Cullens, Jacob Black and Charlie Swan,_

_All of you must be present for the books to open and take great caution in what you are about to hear. In two weeks' time Aro will come to check up on you, in the process, discovering something that he will see as a threat, you must protected the "threat" no matter what for if you don't, Aro along with all his followers, will die at the hand of the merciless. Read these books in preparation for the threat, _

_Sincerely, T.O_

Bella gave me a quizzical look but I myself had no idea what was going on. Who on earth was this T.O supposed to be and what threat was so great that it could destroy the entire Volturi?

"I think it would be best for us to read" Carlisle stated and I nodded before remembering the little problem upstairs.

"Before we start, Bella's cousin just arrived and he got hurt, I think you should check on him," I told him and he looked slightly alarmed while Emmett howled in laughter.

"Man, two minutes here and he's already hurt, no wonder you two are related" he laughed as we all made our way up the stairs. Bella glared at my brother, which caused Jacob to join in the laughter.

"Mom, is your cousin really that clumsy?" Renesmee questioned and now it was my turn to chuckle.

"No calling me mom in front of Percy, he's human…" she hesitated at this part and everybody seemed to notice. "So he won't understand how it's possible for you to be my daughter and he doesn't know anything about werewolves and vampires so no mentioning it when he wakes up," Bella lectured while Renesmee nodded obediently. I heard everyone's surprised thoughts when they entered the room, Rosalie's being the loudest and most obnoxious.

_He's human, how can he look like that, HOW CAN A HUMAN LOOK LIKE THAT! _She practically screeched and I couldn't stop myself from laughing. Carlisle's surprised, of course, was pushed away since, the moment he saw Percy, his doctor's side kicking in. His hands flashed around as he checked Percy's pulls and ordered Charlie to bring a med kit.

"He should wake up within the next half an hour," he informed us. A minute and a half later Percy was fixed up and lying on Bella's bed while we explained the situation to Charlie. He grumbled something unintelligible before nodding and leading us back downstairs so we could all sit in his small living room.

Carlisle took the book with the words Book 1 on it and opened it to the first page. He seemed intrigued by something but I frowned when I noticed that I couldn't read what it was.

"Bella!" I cried out in frustration when I realized the problem.

"No, you're not reading ahead of us," she teased and I gave her my best "dazzling look" but she wasn't budging an inch.

"Alright!" Emmett whooped, holding out a hand for a high five, which Bella, surprisingly, returned.

"**I ACCIDENTALLY VAPORIZE MY PRE-ALGEBRA TEACHER"**

Emmett was already howling with laughter while I couldn't help wondering if Carlisle had read correctly, how on earth could you vaporize a person.

"**Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood."**

I frowned, what kind of half-blood was he referring to?

"**If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now.**

**Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth," **

"Why would a parent lie to their child about their birth?" Esme demanded in a disapproving voice.

"**-and try to lead a normal life.**

**Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways."**

Esme held her hand in front of her face looking horrified and Jacob started shifting uncomfortably when he noticed Renesmee's worried frown. I winced at the thought of all the pain Bella had had to go through.

"**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened."**

"We'll we're not normal so we'll just go on reading" Emmett grinned and I rolled my eyes at him.

"**But if you recognize yourself in these pages—if you feel something stirring inside—stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before **_**they **_**sense it too, and they'll come for you."**

"Whose they?" We all chorused looking confused.

"**Don't say I didn't warn you.**

**My name is Percy Jackson."**

I watched Bella and Charlie's mouths pop open and it took me a second to realize that this Percy and Bella's cousin were probably one in the same but I felt almost happy, I would get to read his thoughts.

"**I'm twelve years old." **

"Why on earth would the book start while his twelve?" Rosalie spoke up for the first time, checking her nails in an uncaring manner. Bella had a thoughtful look on her face, which made me look at her curiously.

"Maybe he met some vampires when he was twelve, it would explain his casualness at our looks and why he doesn't seem to shrink away from us like normal humans do," she suggested and I nodded. It made sense.

"**Until a **_**few **_**months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York."**

Wow, Charlie really wasn't kidding when he said Percy struggled to stay in one school for long.

"**Am I a troubled kid?"**

"Probably" Emmett chuckled and received a whack across the back of his head, courtesy of Rosalie.

"**Yeah. You could say that."**

"Come on, babe, even he admits it" Emmett said, his hands up defensively. Alice rolled her eyes while I just chuckled.

"**I could start at any point in my short miserable life to prove it," **

"Poor dear" Esme said sounding sad.

"**-but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan— twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus," **

Jacob snorted. "Stunning idea" he grumbled and Renesmee giggled, making me slightly ground my teeth. I'd come to have complete sympathy for Charlie's approach towards me.

"**-heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff."**

Bella looked intrigued like always.

"**I know—it sounds like torture. Most Yancy field trips were.**

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class."**

Emmett grinned, probably thinking something along the lines of, "My kind of class" though I couldn't be sure because of Bella.

"**He also had this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher whose class didn't put me to sleep."**

Emmett nodded in approval while Esme looked slightly worried about Percy's education.

"**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

**Boy, was I wrong."**

Charlie and I groaned, he really was just as bad as Bella.

"**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't aiming for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway."**

Emmett and Jasper roared with laughter while Charlie said, "See what I mean about him not staying in a school for long." I stared, almost dumbfounded.

"**And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took an unplanned swim."**

Jacob and I soon joined my brothers' laughing fit while the girls cracked smiles.

"**And the time before that... Well, you get the idea.**

**This trip, I was determined to be good."**

"**All the way into the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich."**

The girls wrinkled their noses as if they could actually smell it.

"**Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled."**

"Wow, nice to know he cares for his friend," I snorted, receiving a real glare from Bella for the first time in a while.

"**He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sandwich that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation."**

"Ouch, already?" Emmett winced in sympathy.

"**The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip."**

To all of our amusement, Emmett pouted.

"**"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled."**

"Like that'd happen," Emmett chuckled, it was obvious that he hadn't seen Percy awake yet.

"**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's okay. I like peanut butter."**

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch."**

"Yeah, you're really convincing us of that" Renesmee smiled.

"**"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

**"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens."**

**Looking back on it, I wish I'd decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into."**

"Oh no!" Esme squeaked and I patted my mother reassuringly.

"**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

**He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through the big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black-and-orange pottery.**

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years."**

"Yeah, it is kinda amazing considering how fragile pottery is" Bella agreed, smiling at the book.

"**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a **_**stele, **_**for a girl about our age. He told us about the carvings on the sides.**

**I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I told them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye."**

"What a horrible teacher," Esme scolded, surprising us slightly, she didn't usually get mad except if one of us messed up somehow.

"**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last math teacher had a nervous breakdown."**

We all frowned, coincidence?

"**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.**

**One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right.""**

"Do you think she really isn't human?" Alice asked looking thoughtful and slightly frustrated. I knew the feeling.

"**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Bobofit snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you **_**shut up**_**?""**

"You tell her Percy!" Jasper and Emmett cheered.

"**It came out louder than I meant it to."**

"Of course it did," Rosalie spat, obviously not yet forgiving Percy for being more beautiful than her.

"**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

**"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

**I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?""**

"That's horrible!" Esme exclaimed looking horrified. Bella, Renesmee and Alice nodded their heads in agreement.

"**"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he **_**did **_**this because ..."**

**"Well..." I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and—"**

**"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

**"Titan," I corrected myself. "And ... he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But his wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead." **

"Wow, he'd have to be really dumb for that to work" Jacob grinned and I had to agree, who the heck could mistake a rock for a baby.

""**And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brothers and sisters—"**

**"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

**"—and so there was this big fight between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

**Some snickers from the group."**

"He got it right," Bella said sounding confused.

"**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'""**

"The world's a weird place kid, trust me, we'd know" Charlie remarked and Bella grinned at her father while Jacob and I chuckled.

"**"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

"Busted" Emmett snickered.

"**"Busted," Grover muttered.**

It was Jasper, Jacob and I's turn to snickered at Emmett's words.

"**"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair."**

"I'd like to have seen that" Rosalie stated with an unlady-like snort.

"**At least Nancy got packed, too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who ever caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears."**

We all frowned at hearing this. "If it wasn't for the wheelchair I would've thought him to be a vampire," Bella stated while Carlisle nodded along looking rather thoughtful.

**I thought about his question, and shrugged. "I don't know, sir."**

**"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit, Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach." **

"The guy was probably stretched to his limits with five growing people inside of him," Jacob smirked and I rolled my eyes while Bella and Renesmee smiled.

"**The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?""**

We all snorted at that remark.

"**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like**

**doofuses."**

"They are doofuses," Alice and Rosalie sang while Bella said nothing, my daughter giggled and Esme looked on in disapproval.

"**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew that was coming.**

**I told Grover to keep going. Then I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go— intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything."**

All our eyes shifted towards Carlisle when they heard this and my own brow furrowed.

"Bella, your cousin really has the same knack for picking up details as you do," I stated feeling worried, what if he _did _somehow figure out our secret.

"Edward, I doubt he'll figure out that we're vampires, I mean, it's not like that's the first thing that pops into a normal person's head," Bella reminded him.

"You forget that he'll probably become involve with vampires, why else would we be reading a book about him?" Jasper reasoned and everyone else shrugged while Bella admitted reluctant defeat.

_But why would the Vultori leave him be if that was indeed the case,_ I couldn't help wondering.

"**"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

**"About the Titans?""**

"Obviously not, since you've already answered that" I stated with a roll of my eyes as stupid as it might be, I was once again worried about Bella's safety.

"Edward, that's my cousin you're joking about," Bella warned, sounding dangerously calm.

"Yeah Eddie, don't tease her cousin," Emmett scolded in a joking voice.

"**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

**"Oh.""**

_Brilliant answer_, I thought rather bitterly, I hated the way Percy Jackson seemed to put me on edge even though the book proved that he was just a normal teenager.

"**"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.""**

"That's a lot of pressure," Emmett observed with a low whistle.

"**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

**I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!'" and challenged us, sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person who had ever **_**lived, **_**and their mother, and what god they worshipped. But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everybody else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia and attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C— in my life."**

Esme's face reflected concern and pity while Bella and Charlie grimaced, having heard over and over what her cousin had to go through.

"**No—he didn't expect me to be **_**as good; **_**he expected me to be **_**better. **_**And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly."**

"Does that really suck that much?" Emmett wondered out loud while everyone else just rolled their eyes at him.

"**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one long sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral."**

"Carlisle, could he be a different kind of vampire?" Jasper was the one to ask the question that was probably on almost everybody's minds.

Carlisle shook his head, unable to answer. "If there was, I'm sure Aro would've told me…" Carlilse whispered though he didn't sound so sure about himself.

"**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue.**

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightning strikes."**

"That doesn't sound good" Esme said with her normal motherly concern.

"**I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers.**

**Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something from a lady's purse, and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing."**

I hid a grin, when, out of everyone, Alice was the one to scowl.

"**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from **_**that **_**school—the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere."**

My irritation towards the boy softened slightly as I realized that Percy seemed to have just as much confidence as Bella had had when they'd first met.

"**"Detention?" Grover asked.**

**"Nah," I said. "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean—I'm not a genius."**

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?""**

This of course, led Emmett to start roaring with laughter so loud, everyone was surprised that Percy didn't wake up.

"**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in a taxi and head home." **

Rosalie and Emmett would probably have commented had it not been for Esme's presence.

"**She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me."**

Esme looked about ready to cry and would probably have done just that had she been able to.

"**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table."**

Emmett, Jasper, Jacob and I all grinned at hearing this.

"**I was about to unwrap my sandwich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends"**

Both Alice and Rosalie made a face at the description.

"**- —I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from the tourists—and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

**"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange, as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos."**

Emmett and Jacob howled with laughter, with Emmett even whipping an imaginary tear from his face.

"**I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper."" **

Everyone raised an eyebrow and I made a mental note of Percy's possible bad temper.

"**But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears."**

"Figure of speech?" Jasper questioned though he definitely didn't sound sure of himself. I grimaced, I hate that none of us know what to make of what Percy is saying in the book.

"**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

"**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering: "Did you see—"**

**"—the water—"**

**"—like it grabbed her—"**

Everybody stared blankly at each other, while I wished we could get answers to our questions.

"**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again."**

"Okay dad, I see your point,"Bella submitted, to a look from Charlie while our daughter simply laughed.

"**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester."**

I raised an eyebrow while Bella looked like she would've been sick if she could've.

"Carlisle-" Bella started, her voice barely above a whisper. "Aro can't be trying to recruit him can he, I mean, you don't think that the water thing is a latened ability, do you?" Bella glanced towards the ceiling as if checking on her cousin, whose heart was still beating upstairs, assuring us that he was still asleep.

**"Now, honey—"**

**"I know," I grumbled. "A month erasing workbooks."**

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

"Well duh," Renesmee said causing both Bella and I to raise eyebrows at her, which made her blush.

"**"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

**"Wait!" Grover yelped. "It was me.**_**I **_**pushed her."**

**I stared at him, stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled."**

"Ouch," Jacob said with a look of sympathy that made me wonder how many teachers had scolded him before, he better not be rubbing it of on my daughter.

"**"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

**"But—"**

**"You—**_**will**_**—stay—here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"It's okay, man," I told him. "Thanks for trying."**

**"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked at me. "**_**Now**_**." **

**Nancy Bobofit smirked."**

Alice, Bella and Rosalie hissed, if the poor girl had been here, she probably wouldn't have survived.

"**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare." **

"Oh, I'm so scared," Emmett said, waving his arms to indicate how much he was exaggerating while I found myself exchanging looks with both Bella and Charlie. If his mere presence could set us on edge this much, would we cower in front of his glare?

"**Then I turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there.**

**She was standing at the museum entrance, way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?"**

"She's not a vampire, right dad?" Renesmee asked while I suppressed a growl of frustration at all the unanswered questions.

"**I have moments like that a lot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if a puzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it." **

"Interesting comparison," Carlisle considered, he seemed truly fascinated by this Percy Jackson, not that I could claim that I wasn't.

"**The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

**I wasn't so sure."**

"This guy is giving me a headache with all his riddles," Jacob moaned while Charlie rubbed his chin while looking thoughtful.

"Percy sure does have an interesting mind, I can see the appeal to reading people's minds," he stated, surprising me, but I managed a smile, complements like these were quite rare.

"**I went after Mrs. Dodds.**

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking pale, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel."**

We all tensed, something was definitely wrong here.

"**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop."**

"Let's hope" Esme said in a nervous voice.

"**But apparently that wasn't the plan."**

Jacob groaned and Emmett groaned.

"**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty."**

Bella was gripping my hand so tightly I had to remind her not to break me before she allowed her grip to slacken slightly.

"**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of the Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throat, like growling."**

"Oh no, she's a vampire, isn't she?" Bella said looking absolutely terrified as I put my arms around her and hugged her closer to me.

"**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about the way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it..."**

My grip on my wife tightened suddenly, could there really be a new type of vampire that my family and I wasn't aware of, was that the great threat the letter was talking about.

**"You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

**I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am.""**

Jacob nodded though he looked like he wasn't too sure about himself.

"**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look in her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil." **

My daughter gulped and buried her head in Jacob's chest, if this really was a vampire, how had Percy survived.

"**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

**I said, "I'll—I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

**"We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain.""**

"Oh yeah, great offer," Emmett snorted but I could tell that even he was starting to feel uneasy.

"**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room."**

Emmett managed a chuckle while the rest of us smiled rather stiffly and Charlie and Esme looked beyond worried.

"**Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on **_**Tom Sawyer **_**from the Internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book."**

I glared, why did the kid have to have a sense of humour in the most of times, he was even worse than Bella who simply refused to go into shock even though she'd just experienced something terrifying.

"**"Well?" she demanded.**

**"Ma'am, I don't..."**

**"Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened." **

We all leaned forward in nervous anticipation, wanting to hear what had happened to the mysterious Percy Jackson.

"**Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a shrivelled hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow fangs, and she was about to slice me to ribbons."**

"What!" we all exclaimed, unable to believe our own ears. What kind of thing was this lady and what the heck did she want with Bella's cousin, nothing made sense.

"**Then things got even stranger."**

"How's that even possible," Jacob asked looking completely baffled.

"**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand."**

"A pen," Rosalie said, her voice sounding dry and disbelieving.

"**"What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me."**

We all leaned forward, still tense while Charlie sat frozen on his chair, extremely pale.

"**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a sword—Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournament day."**

Carlisle paused, seeming to consider this while we all stared at him rather anxiously, how could he let us wait like this?

Finally, he continued.

"**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes.**

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

**And she flew straight at me."**

By this point both Charlie and Renesmee looked green faced, how was it that Percy had survived such an attack.

"**Absolute terror ran through my body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword."**

"Naturally," Jasper said, gapping at the book as if it was something alien, I had to agree…

"**The metal blade hit her shoulder and passed clean through her body as if she were made of water. **_**Hisss!**_

**Mrs. Dodds was a sand castle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red eyes were still watching me."**

It was safe to say that we were all struck dumb for a good two minutes or so before Carlisle finally recovered and started reading again. I on the other hand, was glancing towards the stairs. So he really was dangerous… for a human I supposed, but he would be no match for a vampire, would he?

"**I was alone.**

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand."**

"I'm…confused," Emmett said slowly, as if he was still trying to figure out how to speak again.

"**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must've been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something."**

Jacob snorted, clearly over the shock of it all. The guy really bounced back rather fast and yes, it was annoying.

"**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt.""**

"Who?" we sounded like a confused choir, I hated the puzzles this book kept on producing.

"**I said, "Who?""**

"With you their, buddy," Emmett agreed, clearly already liking Percy, if only he could experience the guy's aura. … Great, now I sounded like Alice.

"**"Our **_**teacher. **_**Duh!""**

"But…" Esme trailed off blinking at the room in general, the kid better wake up so he can give us some answers.

"**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about.**

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

**"Not funny, man," I told him. "This is serious.""**

"I agree," Carlisle said with a thoughtful look.

"**Thunder boomed overhead.**

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved."**

"Okay, what's going on," Alice complained, obviously, the not knowing was getting to her.

"**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

**I handed Mr. Brunner his pen. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

**"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling all right?""**

"Carlisle, could this Mrs. Dodds have erased everyone's memories?" Jasper asked looking confused.

"Or he's just crazy," Rosalie offered, receiving a glare from Charlie and Bella for her efforts.

**Hey, well, that's the end of the chapter so please review and I hope you enjoyed it.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, I'm finally done with the next chapter. I'm glad the first chapter had an actual chapter in it otherwise I would've felt so guilty for leaving you hanging for so long. I hope this is satisfactory and that I didn't offend anyone in my reply to their review. Also Percy'll be waking up in the fourth or fifth chapter since I want everyone to get to know the book Percy a bit better before they meet Percy in person and awake. Thanks. Hope you enjoy.  
**

Chapter 2:

"Who wants to read next?" Carlisle question, holding the book in the air.

"If you don't mind," Charlie said only looking slightly uncomfortable as everyone's eyes turned on him. Carlisle smiled and handed him the book. An amused look immediately crossed Charlie's face as his eyes landed on the page.

"**THREE OLD LADIES KNIT ****THE SOCKS OF DEATH"**

Emmett laughed while Jasper raised a questioning eyebrow.

"**I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly. This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me. The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas."**

Everybody frowned at this. Bella's cousin better not be crazy but could their really be a vampire who could manipulate everybody's memories like that and if so, why was Grover the only one who remembered anything? Had he been threatened?

"**Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.**

**It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed."**

"Interesting…." Carlisle mused as he was wondering about the possibilities of hallucinations.

"**Almost.**

**But Grover couldn't fool me. When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying."**

I groaned, this was like not being able to read Bella's mind except that I could read faster with this book because I wasn't allowed too.

"**Something was going on. Something **_**had **_**happened at the museum."**

"Yeah, either you were attacked by a shape changing vampire of some kind or you're crazy," Emmett said with a wide grin while Bella glared at him, man she looked hot when she wasn't directing her glare at me.

"**I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat."**

I would've felt sorry for him had it not been for the fact that he was putting my instincts so on edge.

"**The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood. One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy." **

Bella pursed her lips and I knew she had something to say. "Is it just me or does the weather seem to have something against him?" Bella asked when she noticed that we were all watching her. Emmett shrugged but Carlisle frowned.

"Someone with Benjamin's abilities could very well be after them," Carlisle suggested though he still didn't seem to sure of himself and that frightened me.

"**One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.**

**I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs. I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class."**

Charlie grimaced and shook his head. "He shouldn't cause so much trouble for Sally," he lectured and Bella rolled her eyes before giving him a pointed look.

"Dad, you know as well as I do that he's not doing it intentionally," she reminded him and he heaved a resigned sigh before continuing.

"**Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot." **

Everyone except Esme, Charlie and Carlisle laughed though Carlisle looked slightly amused. Esme and Charlie though, were giving the books scolding looks.

"**I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good."**

At this, Emmett's laughter became louder.

"**The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy."**

Charlie winced.

"**Fine, I told myself. Just fine.**

**I was homesick."**

Jasper and I suppressed small smiles while Jacob and Emmett snickered earning them a reprimanding from Esme.

"**I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.**

**And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The **_**view **_**of the woods out my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange."**

I managed a small smile at that, hear Percy's thought made my fear for him seem almost stupid. Almost.

"**I worried how he'd survive next year without me.**

**I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well."**

Bella looked sad at this, probably sad that he had to struggle through school like this.

"**As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for. I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him."**

I furrowed my brow in suspicion, what did that have to do with anything?

"**The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the **_**Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology **_**across my dorm room. Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards." **

Emmett snickered at this while Rosalie sniffed in distain.

"**There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon, or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it."**

"It easy once you have a few years to study it," I said with a shrug and Bella gave me an amused smile.

**I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.**

**I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes."**

_There it is again, _I thought as I glanced over at Carlisle.

"_**I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.**_

**I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.**

**I'd never asked a teacher for help before." **

"It shows" Rosalie hissed and Esme gave her a disapproving frown that cooled Rosalie's expression off a bit.

"**Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam." **

"His surprisingly pessimistic," I observed with a raised eyebrow and Renesmee nodded in agreement.

"**I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.**

**I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.**

**I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said**_**"... **_**worried about Percy, sir.""**

Bella frowned looking concerned.

"**I froze.**

**I'm not usually an eavesdropper," **

"Sure you aren't," Alice, Renesmee, Jacob and Emmett said at the same time

"**-but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult."**

"Fair enough," Jacob excepted with a shrug.

"**I inched closer.**

**"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the **_**school**_**!" **

I groaned in frustration when I noticed Carlisle wearing a thoughtful look, one he only wore when he had a theory but I knew he would share it, not before he had more information to cement it.

"**Now that we know for sure, and **_**they **_**know too—"**

**"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said." **

"Rushing him?" Renesmee inquired looking puzzled.

"**"We need the boy to mature more.""**

Emmett, Jasper and I snorted at that insult while Esme and Bella glared at us with folded arms.

"**"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline—**_**""**_

"What's the summer solstice? What dead line," Renesmee questioned in confusion, not noticing Alice and I's irritated expressions for not knowing something.

"**"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can.""**

"Ignorance towards what?" Rosalie groaned, so miss narcissist was also annoyed, just great.

"**"Sir, he **_**saw **_**her... .""**

"So she was there?" Jacob interrupted Charlie to ask but only received shrugs in reply.

"**"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that.""**

I clenched my fists, what did he mean by that. Bella frowned. "I think I heard something about mist before but I can't remember what it was or even where it came from," she said looking as lost as all of us.

"**"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again."" **

"Do you think his a werewolf?" Jacob suddenly asked, referring to the fact that he said 'duties'.

"**Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean.""**

"No we don't," Emmett felt the need to correct him.

"**"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was." **

"Which is?" Jacob said encouragingly, causing Renesmee to giggle.

""**Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—""**

"What!" Everyone exclaimed in shock and Esme gripped at her chest looking increasingly worried. Bella frowned and glanced at Charlie for reassurance while Alice, Jasper, Carlisle and I stared at each other, our brains working furiously to put the mismatching pieces together.

"**The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud."**

Jacob groaned, "Now we won't be able to figure out what they were talking about!" Bella hit him in the arm.

"My cousin just heard that his life was in danger, I don't think that's his main concern right now," she hissed and he had the decency to look sheepish though I silently agreed with him.

"**Mr. Brunner went silent.**

**My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.**

**A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow."**

Okay, now I was confused, though Carlisle seemed to have solved at least half of the puzzle that was still leaving us baffled.

"**I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.**

**A few seconds later I heard a slow **_**clop-clop-clop, **_**like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door." **

Oh great, now Bella seemed to have a theory of her own as well, what was I missing?

"**A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, then moved on.**

**A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.**

**Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice.""**

"What is it with all these solstices?" Renesmee demanded to no one in particular. I frowned, did solstices have something to do with the moon and water?

"**"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."**

**"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."**

**"Don't remind me.""**

Renesmee nodded her head in agreement, she'd made her opinion about exams extremely clear over the past few months.

"**The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.**

**I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.**

**Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.**

**Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night."**

"Would've worked if he hadn't been eavesdropping on them," Jasper said with a smirk, he seemed to be enjoying the book.

"**"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"**

**I didn't answer.**

**"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?""**

"Yeah, he just found out that his life was in danger but other than that, everything's fine," Jacob chuckled.

"**"Just... tired."**

**I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.**

**I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.**

**But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger."**

"The question is; what kind?" Charlie asked looking worried.

"**The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam," **

"Three hours?" Jacob, Emmett and Renesmee asked sounding horrified.

" You have a photographic memory, what are you going on about?" Alice said, shaking her head as she directed her question towards Emmett.

"It's still torturous," he exclaimed, not dropping his expression.

"**-my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.**

**For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.**

**"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."**

"Is he…. Insulting him?" Alice didn't sound sure about her accusation and her brow furrowed.

"**His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips."**

Alice and Bella rolled their eyes at the girl's behaviour while Rosalie stared at the book in distaste. "Idiot," she hissed before going back to checking her fingernails while Esme bit her lip, she didn't seem sure on whether or not to scold Rosalie.

"**I mumbled, "Okay, sir."**

**"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time.""**

Jacob groaned, slapping his palm against his forehead.

"**My eyes stung.**

**Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out."**

I stared at the book, feeling sympathy for Percy. From what I'd gathered, he didn't have a father and Mr. Brunner seemed to be his father figure but he was basically kicking Percy while he was down.

"**"Right," I said, trembling.**

**"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal, Percy."**

"What do you think he means by that?" Jasper questioned and Emmett rolled his eyes as if it should be obvious.

"Obviously it has something to do with the thing that attacked him," Emmett stated and Alice seemed to suppress a small smile as she responded.

"You don't say…."

"**That's nothing to be—"**

**"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me.**

**"Percy—"**

**But I was already gone."**

_He has a temper_, I noted as my eyes narrowed, that could be very dangerous if you were surrounded by vampires.

"**On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.**

**The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were **_**rich **_**juvenile delinquents." **

Charlie grimaced, probably thinking of Sally's financial state. "At least they have Paul, I didn't know Percy hated his step-father now that I come to think of it," Bella said and Charlie shook his head.

"I think this was before Paul," he said, causing mass confusion. Now that I thought about it, it was actually funny that the two sisters both had husbands with the name Paul, maybe they both just liked that type of guy.

"**Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies."**

There was booming thunder that surprised everyone so much, we jumped in our seats. If there was supposed to be a thunder storm, Alice would've seen it coming and we would've heard it approaching. What the heck was going on?

I shifted my gaze slightly towards Bella's old bedroom, this was somehow Percy's fault, I was sure of it.

"**They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.**

**What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall."**

"That's no life for a kid," Renesmee said with a shake of her head and Bella smiled at our daughter in an approving manner.

"**"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."**

**They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed."**

"Well, that's rude," Esme remarked looking offended and worried for Percy's sake.

"**The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had, so there we were, together again, heading into the city."**

"Coincidence?" Jacob sounded only slightly unsure of his accusation.

"**During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen."**

"So there's some sort of danger outside the school walls," Jasper said as if he was wrestling with his thoughts.

"**Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased.**

**But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound."**

Carlisle and Charlie nodded their heads in agreement to Percy's thoughts.

"**Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.**

**I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"**

**Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?""**

Jacob looked like he couldn't decide whether to laugh or frown at Grover's reaction.

"**I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam."**

Jacob and Emmett groaned. "He's an idiot," they decied together.

"**Grover's eye twitched. "How much **_**did **_**you hear?"**

**"Oh ... not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"**

"That's what we're wondering two dear," Esme said as she tapped her chin in a thoughtful manner.

"**He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers ..."**

**"Grover—"**

**"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."**

**"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar.""**

Emmett, Jasper, Jacob and I grinned at each other at hearing this.

"**His ears turned pink.**

**From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.**

**The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:**

**Grover Underwood**

**Keeper**

**Half-Blood Hill**

**Long Island, New York**

**(800)009-0009**

**"What's Half—""**

Carlisle's eyes widened and I knew he'd solved the puzzle completely.

"**"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... summer address."**

**My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy."**

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rosalie demanded as she glared at the book.

"**"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."**

**He nodded. "Or ... or if you need me."**

**"Why would I need you?""**

"Percy!" Bella exclaimed, staring at the book in disbelief while Renesmee winced and I smiled in amusement; Bella had used that tone enough on her for it to send up warning signals it seemed.

"**It came out harsher than I meant it to."**

Bella and Esme's expressions softened slightly at hearing this.

"**Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you.""**

I moaned in frustration. "From what?" I questioned the book, thinking of when I'd had to protect Bella from her own bad luck, was this the same thing?

"**I stared at him.**

**All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me." **

"Okay, now he's just exaggerating," Jacob said with a snort though Bella didn't look convinced.

"**And here he was acting like he was the one who defended **_**me."**_

"Maybe he was an you just didn't know it," Esme whispered and I nodded my head in agreement. That seemed plausible.

"**"Grover," I said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?""**

Everyone's curiosity seemed to perk at this.

"**There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.**

**After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.**

**We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.**

**The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of bloodred cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice**_**." **_

Jacob and Charlie looked like they might drool from the description.

"**There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.**

**I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks." **

"Weird," Renesmee said with a slight smile and an amused expression.

"**The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.**

**All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.**

**The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me."**

I felt suddenly cold, it sounded too ominous to mean anything good.

"**I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face."**

"Definitely not good," Jasper seemed to agree with my unspoken thought.

"**His nose was twitching.**

**"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"**

**"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"**

**"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"**

**"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all.""**

"Actually, I thought it was pretty funny," Emmett disagreed, still chuckling slightly. Carlisle however, was looking increasingly worried.

"**The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.**

**"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."**

**"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."**

**"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back."**

Carlisle cursed in Italian, surprising us all.

"**Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that **_**snip **_**across four lanes of traffic." **

If it was possible, my face would've paled, why did that sound so familiar.

"**Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla."**

Emmett chuckled again, obviously not noticing the tense air that had decided to fill the room.

"**At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment.**

**The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life."**

Carlisle gave a reproachfully frown at hearing this.

"**The passengers cheered.**

**"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"**

**Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu."**

Esme and Bella stared at the book in concern while Charlie shot a quick glance towards the stairs.

"**Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.**

**"Grover?"**

**"Yeah?"**

**"What are you not telling me?""**

I silently wished that Grover would be truthful but I doubted it would happen.

"**He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"**

**"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"**

**His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds." **

"What besides non vegetarian bloodsuckers could be worse than Mrs. Dodds?" Jacob asked with a nervous chuckle. He'd modified his usual insult so as not to offend Renesmee.

"**He said, "Just tell me what you saw."**

**"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn.""**

"Isn't that some sort of sign of death?" Renesmee questioned with a perplexed look.

"**He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't.**

**It was something else, something almost—older."**

I raised an eyebrow at this.

"**He said, "You saw her snip the cord."**

**"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal."**

"It might just be," Bella squeaked, looking like she might've cried if she could.

"**"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time.""**

"Last time?" we all questioned in unison.

"**"What last time?"**

**"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth.""**

I felt my throat go slightly dry at hearing this, what was going on?

"**"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"**

**"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."**

**This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.**

**"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.**

**No answer.**

**"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?""**

"Let's hope not," Charlie said in a hoarse voice, his tone the only thing heard in the houe except for Percy's breathing upstairs and all the supposed to be humans' heartbeats.

"**He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin."**

Both Charlie and Jacob had gone pale in the silence that followed the sentence. Under normal circumstances we probably would've brushed it off but we lived in a world where we were aware of vampires and werewolves' existence and we were currently reading about Bella's cousin, it could turn out to be a disaster.

"Okay take a quick breather, I just want to go check on something, we'll meet back here in ten minutes. Charlie, could you please put some ice of Percy's forehead while I'm gone," Carlisle instructed as he stood. Charlie gave a silent nod, still seeming to be in shock, and Carlisle took off towards our house.

**There you are, the second chapter's done. I hope you enjoyed it and that you'll review. Thanks.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yes! I finally updated so I'm guilt free for a little while. Sorry but it really was a hectic couple of weeks and still is but I decided that I owed it to you to update since you've been so insistent which truly is flattering when you think about it.**

**Anyway, I hope it turned out okay.**

Chapter 3:

We sat in silence for a moment, just staring at each other. Charlie had left us to go and put an icepack on Percy's forehead and now we all just sat waiting for Carlisle's return. I glanced at the book, left on Charlie's chair and furrowed my brow in indecision before making my choice.

'Alice, what do you think of Percy?' I asked her, knowing that, besides myself, she was usually the best at summing people up, though now that I thought about it, I wasn't sure how much of that summing up relied on her extra ability.

Alice blinked for a second before fidgeting causing Jasper to look uncomfortable. "He seems like a nice kid," she mumbled though I could tell that all the mystery surrounding him was bothering her.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Jacob wondered, a quizzical look on his face.

"I wasn't asking about the book, I was referring to the guy in Bella's old room," I explained, slightly agitated as my gaze travelled towards the stairs. Jacob looked even more confused at that and Alice and the others didn't look far from it.

"You can't tell me you haven't felt the… aura that guy gives off," I demanded unsure how else to describe what I felt.

Of course, that only caused Jacob and Emmett to laugh at my efforts while Jasper grinned and Alice looked deep in thought once more.

"We believe you bro," Emmett said as he clapped me on the back.

_Yeah right._

Alice opened her mouth to speak but unfortunately, Carlisle choose that moment to come back, his expression giving off the illusion that he would've been paler than normal if it were possible.

"Dear, what's going on?" Esme questioned as she approached her husband with a worried frown on her face.

Carlisle didn't answer immediately, waiting till Charlie had entered the room before he spoke. "I believe I have a theory about what our Percy Jackson has himself mixed up in, and if I'm right, that could be a very dangerous place to be for a mortal," he explained, causing Charlie to pale and Jacob to frown disapprovingly while my family all just stood perplexed. Renesmee bit her lip, her eyes travelling between Carlisle, Bella and Charlie uncertainly, I could practically see her brain working to figure everything out.

"Alright, who's reading next," Esme questioned in her best commanding voice though the worry was still clear in her eyes.

"I will," Bella offered as she held her hand out for the book.

"**GROVER UNEXPECTEDLY LOSESHIS PANTS"**

Emmett, Jasper and Jacob snickered while I couldn't help the smirk that crossed my face.

"**Confession time: I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal."**

"Percy," Bella groaned disapprovingly and I wanted to point out that she never really did what was asked of her either.

"**I know, I know. It was rude. But Grover was freaking me out, looking at me like I was a dead man,"**

Most of us vampires, grinned at hearing this.

"**-muttering "Why does this always happen?" and "Why does it always have to be sixth grade?"**

**Whenever he got upset, Grover's bladder acted up, so I wasn't surprised when, as soon as we got off the bus, he made me promise to wait for him, then made a beeline for the restroom."**

Emmett and Jacob were howling with laughter at the end of that sentence while Jasper, Alice and I chuckled, all earning disapproving looks from Esme for our efforts.

"**Instead of waiting, I got my suitcase, slipped outside, and caught the first taxi uptown.**

**"East One-hundred-and-fourth and First," I told the driver.**

**A word about my mother, before you meet her.**

**Her name is Sally Jackson and she's the best person in the world, which just proves my theory that the best people have the rottenest luck." **

I nodded, completely agreeing with Percy's theory since Bella was living proof of it.

"**Her own parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn't care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she had to quit school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma."**

Esme looked absolutely heart-broken at hearing this and I couldn't help thinking that the way Percy described his mother made me picture someone like Esme.

"**The only good break she ever got was meeting my dad."**

Emmett and Jacob cooed at this but both were quick to apologize when their wife or imprint in Jacob's case, gave them the look. I grinned.

"**I don't have any memories of him, just this sort of warm glow, maybe the barest trace of his smile. My mom doesn't like to talk about him because ****it ****makes her sad. She has no pictures.**

**See, they weren't married. She told me he was rich and important, and their relationship was a secret."**

I took note of Carlisle's suddenly thoughtful look and couldn't help feeling frustrated at my wife's ability to shield others' mind from me.

"**Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.**

**Lost at sea, my mom told me. Not dead. Lost at sea."**

Bella gasped as if realization had struck and I groaned since I knew that it probably had. Jasper gave me a sympathetic but equally as clueless look and it helped me feel a bit better.

"**She worked odd jobs, took night classes to get her high school diploma, and raised me on her own. She never complained or got mad. Not even once. But I knew I wasn't an easy kid."**

Emmett let out a low, disbelieving whistle at that.

"**Finally, she married Gabe Ugliano," **

Everyone except for Esme, let out a snort at hearing the name, it was quite comical if you thought about it.

"**-who was nice the first thirty seconds we knew him, then showed his true colors as a world-class jerk. When I was young, I nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The guy reeked like moldy garlic pizza wrapped in gym shorts."**

If possible, my whole family and I would've turned green at the description while my daughter almost managed to do so.

"**Between the two of us, we made my mom's life pretty hard. The way Smelly Gabe treated her, the way he and I got along ... well, when I came home is a good example.**

**I walked into our little apartment, hoping my mom would be home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.**

**Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, "So, you're home."**

**"Where's my mom?"**

**"Working," he said. "You got any cash?""**

Esme looked about ready to throttle the book while Rosalie snorted her disapproval, seems she found a new hobby.

"**That was it. No ****Welcome back. Good to see you. How has your life been the last six months?**

**Gabe had put on weight. He looked like a tuskless walrus in thrift-store clothes." **

Again, sounds of disgusted amusement ran through the room.

"**He had about three hairs on his head, all combed over his bald scalp, as if that made him handsome or something.**

**He managed the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, but he stayed home most of the time. I don't know why he hadn't been fired long before. He just kept on collecting paychecks, spending the money on cigars that made me nauseous, and on beer, of course. Always beer. Whenever I was home, he expected me to provide his gambling funds. He called that our "guy secret." Meaning, if I told my mom, he would punch my lights out."**

I couldn't quite decide between grinning or cringing when I saw Bella's furious expression.

"**"I don't have any cash," I told him.**

**He raised a greasy eyebrow."**

Rosalie made a gagging sound while Renesmee lost the last bit of colour in her complexion and looked about ready to run to the bathroom. Luckily she didn't.

"**Gabe could sniff out money like a bloodhound, which was surprising, since his own smell should've covered up everything else.**

**"You took a taxi from the bus station," he said. "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?""**

"What a pig!" Esme growled as she glared at the book.

"**Eddie, the super of the apartment building, looked at me with a twinge of sympathy. "Come on, Gabe," he said. "The kid just got here.""**

Esme still looked miffed at Eddie and Gabe's behaviour.

"**"Am I ****right****?****" ****Gabe repeated.**

**Eddie scowled into his bowl of pretzels. The other two guys passed gas in harmony."**

Emmett stifled a laugh while, Alice pulled a face and I tried not to look to disgusted.

"**"Fine," I said. I dug a wad of dollars out of my pocket and threw the money on the table. "I hope you lose."**

**"Your report card came, brain boy!" he shouted after me. "I wouldn't act so snooty!"**

**I slammed the door to my room, which really wasn't my room." **

Jacob made a sound of amusement. "What a way with words," he mumbled and I grinned slightly at that while Renesmee looked relieved that the encounter with Percy's step-father was over.

"**During school months, it was Gabe's "study." He didn't study anything in there except old car magazines, but he loved shoving my stuff in the closet, leaving his muddy boots on my windowsill, and doing his best to make the place smell like his nasty cologne and cigars and stale beer.**

**I dropped my suitcase on the bed. Home sweet home."**

All of us chuckled at that, Percy's sarcasm was at least good.

"**Gabe's smell was almost worse than the nightmares about Mrs. Dodds, or the sound of that old fruit lady's shears snipping the yarn."**

"I doubt that," Rosalie told the book rather tiredly and I rolled my eyes at her aloof behaviour.

"**But as soon as I thought that, my legs felt weak. I remembered Grover's look of panic—how he'd made me promise I wouldn't go home without him. A sudden chill rolled through me. I felt like someone—something—was looking for me right now, maybe pounding its way up the stairs, growing long, horrible talons."**

I felt my body tense in anticipation.

"**Then I heard my mom's voice. "Percy?""**

And relaxed back into my seat, the kid really got on my nerves.

"**She opened the bedroom door, and my fears melted.**

**My mother can make me feel good just by walking into the room. Her eyes sparkle and change color in the light. Her smile is as warm as a quilt. She's got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as old. When she looks at me, it's like she's seeing all the good things about me, none of the bad. I've never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even me or Gabe."**

"Wow, that last one's quite the achievement," Esme praised with a respecting nod.

"**"Oh, Percy." She hugged me tight. "I can't believe it. You've grown since Christmas!"**

**Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central." **

My family and I grimaced at the thought while Jacob stared at the book in longing. Renesmee looked unsure of how to react.

"**She'd brought me a huge bag of "free samples," the way she always did when I came home.**

**We sat together on the edge of the bed. While I attacked the blueberry sour strings, she ran her hand through my hair and demanded to know everything I hadn't put in my letters. She didn't mention anything about my getting expelled. She didn't seem to care about that. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing all right?**

Emmett and I smothered snickers at that while Jacob frowned slightly.

"**I told her she was smothering me, and to lay off and all that, but secretly, I was really, really glad to see her.**

**From the other room, Gabe yelled, "Hey, Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?"**

**I gritted my teeth.**

**My mom is the nicest lady in the world. She should've been married to a millionaire, not to some jerk like Gabe."**

All the girls nodded their heads in agreement and I couldn't help smiling in amusement.

"**For her sake, I tried to sound upbeat about my last days at Yancy Academy. I told her I wasn't too down about the expulsion. I'd lasted almost the whole year this time." **

"Good grief," Charlie exclaimed looking horror-struck.

"**I'd made some new friends. I'd done pretty well in Latin. And honestly, the fights hadn't been as bad as the headmaster said. I liked Yancy Academy. I really did. I put such a good spin on the year, I almost convinced myself. I started choking up, thinking about Grover and Mr. Brunner. Even Nancy Bobofit suddenly didn't seem so bad."**

"Wow!" came Jacob's open-mouthed comment.

"**Until that trip to the museum ...**

**"What?" my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. "Did something scare you?"**

**"No, Mom."**

**I felt bad lying. I wanted to tell her about Mrs. Dodds and the three old ladies with the yarn, but I thought it would sound stupid."**

Some of us nodded our head in understanding while Esme looked like she wanted to scold the book for lying to Sally.

"**She pursed her lips. She knew I was holding back, but she didn't push me.**

**"I have a surprise for you," she said. "We're going to the beach."**

**My eyes widened. "Montauk?"**

**"Three nights—same cabin."**

**"When?"**

**She smiled. "As soon as I get changed."**

**I couldn't believe it. My mom and I hadn't been to Montauk the last two summers, because Gabe said there wasn't enough money."**

"Like I believe that," Alice snorted, folding her arms.

"**Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, "Bean dip, Sally? Didn't you hear me?""**

Esme growled at the book while Bella's grip tightened on the cover.

"**I wanted to punch him, but I met my mom's eyes and I understood she was offering me a deal: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.**

**"I was on my way, honey," she told Gabe. "We were just talking about the trip."**

**Gabe's eyes got small. "The trip? You mean you were serious about that?""**

"No duh," Rosalie stated looking genuinely irritated as she glared at the book.

"**"I knew it," I muttered. "He won't let us go."**

**"Of course he will," my mom said evenly. "Your stepfather is just worried about money. That's all. Besides," she added, "Gabriel won't have to settle for bean dip. I'll make him enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works.""**

Jasper and I snickered at the name Gabriel while Emmett and Jacob grinned. "Bribery." They said in unison.

"**Gabe softened a bit. "So this money for your trip ... it comes out of your clothes budget, right?""**

Alice glared at the book while Jasper patted her shoulder in slight amusement.

"**"Yes, honey," my mother said.**

**"And you won't take my car anywhere but there and back."**

**"We'll be very careful."**

**Gabe scratched his double chin."**

Rosalie pulled a face at that.

"**"Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip ... And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game.""**

"Oh of course, because he just walked into his own house," Charlie muttered bitterly as he took to staring at the book as if he was contemplating on pulling out his gun.

"**Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot, I thought. And make you sing soprano for a week."**

Yup, that definitely had all of us shaking with laughter and Charlie even whipped a few tears from his eyes, his previous anger forgotten.

"**But my mom's eyes warned me not to make him mad.**

**Why did she put up with this guy? I wanted to scream. Why did she care what he thought?"**

_Why indeed, _I couldn't help wondering.

"**"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I'm really sorry I interrupted your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now.""**

Emmett, Jasper and Jacob were all grinning while I rolled my eyes, he seemed to be a bit of a rebel.

"**Gabe's eyes narrowed. His tiny brain was probably trying to detect sarcasm in my statement.**

**"Yeah, whatever," he decided.**

**He went back to his game.**

**"Thank you, Percy," my mom said. "Once we get to Montauk, we'll talk more about... whatever you've forgotten to tell me, okay?"**

**For a moment, I thought I saw anxiety in her eyes—the same fear I'd seen in Grover during the bus ride—as if my mom too felt an odd chill in the air."**

I felt my metaphorical blood run cold and knew I wasn't the only one. What had Percy gotten himself into?

"**But then her smile returned, and I figured I must have been mistaken. She ruffled my hair and went to make Gabe his seven-layer dip.**

**An hour later we were ready to leave.**

**Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking—and more important, his '78 Camaro—for the whole weekend."**

"Because of course that would be so important," Bella's irritation was clear in her voice and narrowed eyes.

"**"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."**

**Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me."**

I snickered once again, one thing Bella's cousin was good at was making people laugh.

"**Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building,**

**I got so mad I did something I can't explain.**

**As Gabe reached the doorway, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, a sort of warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a cannon." **

Bella paused in her reading and we all took our time to stare at the book without actually comprehending what was going on.

""**Maybe it was just the wind, or some freak accident with the hinges, but I didn't stay long enough to find out. **

**I got in the Camaro and told my mom to step on it.**

**Our rental cabin was on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It was a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There was always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, and most of the time the sea was too cold to swim in.**

**I loved the place."**

Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett and Jacob snorted at hearing this while Renesmee stared at the book in curiosity.

"**We'd been going there since I was a baby. My mom had been going even longer. She never exactly said, but I knew why the beach was special to her. It was the place where she'd met my dad."**

I blinked, feeling suddenly stupid, the book had been referring to a lot of water based things from the very beginning, but why was it so important to the story?

"**As we got closer to Montauk, she seemed to grow younger, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea.**

**We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work."**

"Uh… o-kay" Emmett murmured, seeming unsure what to make of that.

"**I guess I should explain the blue food."**

"Yup!" Emmett agreed, back to grinning.

"**See, Gabe had once told my mom there was no such thing. **

"That's just stupid," Renesmee was the one to roll her eyes this time.

"**They had this fight, which seemed like a really small thing at the time. But ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue. She baked blue birthday cakes. She mixed blueberry smoothies. She bought blue-corn tortilla chips and brought home blue candy from the shop. This—along with keeping her maiden name, Jackson, rather than calling herself Mrs. Ugliano—was proof that she wasn't totally suckered by Gabe. She did have a rebellious streak, like me."**

I begged to differ, though Mrs. Jackson obviously did have a rebel inside her, her son had a lot more than just a streak inside of him.

"**When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told me about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop."**

Esme was staring at the book looking like she wanted to cry and Carlisle put an arm around her and pulled her closer. **Eventually, I got up the nerve to ask about what was always on my mind whenever we came to Montauk—my father. Mom's eyes went all misty. I figured she would tell me the same things she always did, but I never got tired of hearing them.**

**"He was kind, Percy," she said. "Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle, too. You have his black hair, you know, and his green eyes."**

**Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. "I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud."**

**I wondered how she could say that. What was so great about me? A dyslexic, hyperactive boy with a D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years."**

"That's not what matters to a parent," Charlie said matter-of-factly.

"**"How old was I?" I asked. "I mean ... when he left?"**

**She watched the flames. "He was only with me for one summer, Percy. Right here at this beach. This cabin."**

Emmett made a face and Rosalie hit him over the head. For once I actually agreed with her.

"**"But... he knew me as a baby."**

**"No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born."**

**I tried to square that with the fact that I seemed to remember ... something about my father. A warm glow. A smile."**

I exchanged questioning looks with everyone in the room but the only ones who seemed to know what was going on was Bella and Carlisle and they weren't going to share.

"**I had always assumed he knew me as a baby. My mom had never said it outright, but still, I'd felt it must be true. Now, to be told that he'd never even seen me ...**

**I felt angry at my father. Maybe it was stupid, but I resented him for going on that ocean voyage, for not having the guts to marry my mom. He'd left us, and now we were stuck with Smelly Gabe."**

Renesmee stared at the floor in obvious sadness as Jacob pulled her into his side.

"**"Are you going to send me away again?" I asked her. "To another boarding school?"**

**She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.**

**"I don't know, honey." Her voice was heavy. "I think ... I think we'll have to do something."**

**"Because you don't want me around?"" **

"What!" Bella screeched looking upset while Esme seemed even sadder than before. Hands shaking, Bella continued to read, her posture relaxing slightly at the next sentence.

"**I regretted the words as soon as they were out.**

**My mom's eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezed it tight. "Oh, Percy, no. I—I ****have ****to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away.""**

_But why, _I wanted so desperately to get an answer to that question, what was the mystery surrounding Percy Jackson?

"**Her words reminded me of what Mr. Brunner had said—that it was best for me to leave Yancy.**

**"Because I'm not normal," I said.**

**"You say that as if it's a bad thing, Percy. But you don't realize how important you are. I thought Yancy Academy would be far enough away. I thought you'd finally be safe."**

**"Safe from what?""**

I leaned forward expectantly.

"**She met my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me—all the weird, scary things that had ever happened to me, some of which I'd tried to forget.**

**During third grade, a man in a black trench coat had stalked me on the playground. When the teachers threatened to call the police, he went away growling, but no one believed me when I told them that under his broad-brimmed hat, the man only had one eye, right in the middle of his head.**

**Before that—a really early memory. I was in preschool, and a teacher accidentally put me down for a nap in a cot that a snake had slithered into. My mom screamed when she came to pick me up and found me playing with a limp, scaly rope I'd somehow managed to strangle to death with my meaty toddler hands."**

"Like Hercules," Emmett observed with a grin and suddenly almost everything clicked into place. Percy was involved in the world of Greek Mythology and that was indeed a very dangerous place for a human to be. I pursed my lips as I tried to figure out Percy's place in it all. Could he be a reincarnation of the hero Perseus somehow or was that a bit to far-fetched?

"**In every single school, something creepy had happened, something unsafe, and I was forced to move.**

**I knew I should tell my mom about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds at the art museum, about my weird hallucination that I had sliced my math teacher into dust with a sword. But I couldn't make myself tell her. I had a strange feeling the news would end our trip to Montauk, and I didn't want that."**

Esme gave a sad sigh.

"**"I've tried to keep you as close to me as I could," my mom said. "They told me that was a mistake. But there's only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just... I just can't stand to do it."**

**"My father wanted me to go to a special school?"**

**"Not a school," she said softly. "A summer camp.""**

**My head was spinning. Why would my dad—who hadn't even stayed around long enough to see me born— talk to my mom about a summer camp?"**

I nodded my head in agreement, that was strange, then again, apparently Greek Mythology was as real as vampires so…

"**And if it was so important, why hadn't she ever mentioned it before?**

**"I'm sorry, Percy," she said, seeing the look in my eyes. "But I can't talk about it. I—I couldn't send you to that place. It might mean saying good-bye to you for good."**

**"For good? But if it's only a summer camp ..."**

**She turned toward the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.**

I silently cursed, irritated that I'd have to wait even longer for more information but at least I had a theory now, one which suddenly seemed rather reasonable.

"**That night I had a vivid dream.**

**It was storming on the beach, and two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, were trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf. The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse's muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagles wings. As they fought, the ground rumbled, and a monstrous voice chuckled somewhere beneath the earth, goading the animals to fight harder.**

**I ran toward them, knowing I had to stop them from killing each other, but I was running in slow motion.**

**I knew I would be too late. I saw the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse's wide eyes, and I screamed, ****No!**

**I woke with a start."**

I frowned in disapproval, did the mention of the dream mean it was important.

"**Outside, it really was storming, the kind of storm that cracks trees and blows down houses. There was no horse or eagle on the beach, just lightning making false daylight, and twenty-foot waves pounding the dunes like artillery.**

**With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, "Hurricane."**

**I knew that was crazy. Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer. But the ocean seemed to have forgotten.**

**Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my hair stand on end."**

Again, I felt anticipation building up inside me.

"**Then a much closer noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice—someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.**

**My mother sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.**

**Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn't... he wasn't exactly Grover."**

"Huh?" was the overall response to that.

"**"Searching all night," he gasped. "What were you thinking?"**

**My mother looked at me in terror—not scared of Grover, but of why he'd come.**

**"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"**

**I was frozen, looking at Grover. I couldn't understand what I was seeing.**

**"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!"he yelled.**

"Greek?" Alice questioned but Bella held a hand up to stop her.

"**"It's right behind me! Didn't you ****tell ****her?"**

**I was too shocked to register that he'd just cursed in Ancient Greek, and I'd understood him perfectly." **

By this time everyone seemed struck dumb while I allowed myself to realize that that had been the language he'd spoken earlier.

"**I was too shocked to wonder how Grover had gotten here by himself in the middle of the night. Because Grover didn't have his pants on—"**

"Too much information," Emmett grimaced and was hushed immediately.

"**-and where his legs should be ... where his legs should be ...**

**My mom looked at me sternly and talked in a tone she'd never used before: ****"Percy. ****Tell me ****now****!"**

**I stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and my mom stared at me, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning."**

"She knows what's going on, wish I could say the same," Renesmee observed in a grim tone.

"**She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. Both of you. ****Go****!****" ****Grover ran for the Camaro—but he wasn't running, exactly. He was trotting, shaking his shaggy hindquarters," **

"What!" Jasper, Emmett and Jacob shouted in alarm while Renesmee seemed confused.

"**-and suddenly his story about a muscular disorder in his legs made sense to me. I understood how he could run so fast and still limp when he walked.**

**Because where his feet should be, there were no feet. There were cloven hooves."**

There was a pause before Alice turned a stern expression towards Carlisle. "Explain," she all but demanded.

**Review if you want to and thanks for the support.**


	4. Chapter 4

**For the sake of my own dignity I just have to tell you that no, no one persuaded me into waking Percy up in this chapter, I've been planning for him to wake up in this chapter from the freakin begin, okay! Thank you. Now, I must warn you that Percy'll be a bit moody in this chapter but please bear with me, he'll be all happy go lucky and sarcasm rules in the next one. Promise. **

**Okay, on with the chapter. **

Chapter 4:

A small part of me could help feeling proud that I'd sort of guessed what was going on. My theory had been correct except for the fact that Percy was apparently a demigod instead of a reincarnation of one.

After the revelation, Charlie had run a tired hand through his hair and gone to make himself another coffee, I got the feeling he was going to down a couple of more coffees before we were done with these books.

My family and I had taken to staring at each other as we waited for Charlie to come back but I frowned as I realized that something had changed though it took me a second to figure out what it was.

Upstairs, Percy's heartbeat had started to quicken as if he were panicking and, with one glance towards my family, we all shot upstairs, Charlie following at a shout from Jacob.

"How…" I could just hear Percy mumble as Charlie, Bella, Carlisle and I entered Bella's old room while the rest of my family and Jacob hovered outside the room. Just then, Percy shot upright on the bed before clutching his head and groaning in protest.

"You shouldn't sit up so quickly, you arm's badly injured and you bumped your head quite hard," Carlisle said, already in doctor's mode while he shot a quick glance towards Bella, no doubt reminded of the first time he'd met her.

"Um, sorry but, do I know you?" Percy questioned with a pain stricken frown as he tilted his head slightly towards Carlisle.

Carlisle looked like he might smile at hearing this and instead shook his head looking amused. "No. My name's Carlisle Cullen, I'm a doctor at Forks hospital," he explained and Percy froze. His hand fell from his head and he stared at Carlisle in shock, his eyes traveling around as he took in the rest of my family and Jacob.

"You're a doctor?" Percy asked in obvious disbelief and I smiled slightly, it was a normal reaction since we all looked more like actors or models than anything else I supposed but the way he said it bothered me slightly. Groaning again he swung his legs off of the bed and started stumbling towards the bathroom.

It was amazing to see my brothers and sisters giving a mere mortal such a wide birth while they suppressed growls finally figuring out what I'd meant by "aura". I gave them a smug look before turning my attention towards Carlisle and Percy once more. Carlisle seemed to be startled by Percy's aura as well and I shot him a questioning look that he didn't seem to notice.

All Carlisle did was to glide over to the door and watch Percy from there as if he was trying to figure out a puzzle.

Percy quickly gulped down some water from the tap before splashing some more onto his face. Still busy splashing water onto his face, he spoke. "So, all of you are vampires, how come you drink only animal blood?" he said so abruptly that we all froze.

With a sudden shout, Alice latched onto Rosalie, quickly followed by Emmett and Jasper. Rosalie, who'd been about to attack, struggled against their grasp as she glared daggers at the boy who suddenly seemed to pose such a large threat to our peaceful life.

Percy turned around and glared back, causing all of us to freeze, never before, had I been so terrified by a 17-year-old mortal.

"So is that it?" he demanded and I stared at him, for a moment wondering if he'd wanted Rosalie to attack. "I try to make small talk and you're ready to rip my head off? Then I suppose you aren't the "good guys"" he said, putting air quotes around the last to words as he glared at us. I continued to stare at him, taken aback and totally horrified. Unlike us, Percy obviously didn't feel threatened by us. How was that even possible? Were his instincts completely skew as well?

"Percy, what are you talking about?" Bella said and her terrible lying skills unfortunately wasn't lost on Percy.

"Oh come on, Bella! My entire life's been weird and now I find out my cousin's married into a family of vampires, turned into a vampire herself and she has a werewolf for a friend" Percy rolled his eyes and paused before he added. "And apparently I'm an uncle of some sort?" It took me a while to realize that he was referring to Renesmee who was staring at the scene, wide eyed. Percy smiled.

"Renesmee right? Hi, my name's Percy, nice to meet you," he said, offering her a hand to shake that she seemed hesitant to take but finally grabbed anyway. Was I the only one in shock at how easily he was excepting all of this.

_Then again, his life's full of Greek Mythology that he seems all to aware of, _My mind argued with me and I let out a resigned sigh at that.

While Percy seemed completely at ease with the whole situation, my entire family was getting more and more anxious by the minute until, finally, Carlisle stepped forwards again.

"Um, Percy, would you mind telling us how you knew about our… circumstances?" It was Percy's turn to halt.

"Actually, I really shouldn't, my life's kind of complicated right now and I'd prefer not to get anyone involved in it.

"Would this complication have anything to do with what happened when you were twelve?" Rosalie spat and Percy stiffened before he glared at her, his aura and the danger he represented, seeming to increase tenfold once more.

"What do you know about when I was twelve," he hissed, making no move to approach her but somehow appearing intimidating all the same.

"We got this," Alice said from beside me, startling me slightly and I stared at her only to realize that she was holding out the note we'd received with the book, to Percy who took it with a suspicious frown on his face.

I stared at it for what seemed like forever, the frown still fixed in place and I was starting to feel impatient until I remembered that he was probably struggling because of his dyslexia.

Finally, he finished reading and said a word in Ancient Greek that I suspected to be a curse word before he glared. "I don't see what this "threat" has to do with what happened to me when I was twelve except if there's an army of monster heading this way and I can't see how books would help you prepare for them, you'd need celestial bronze weapons to defeat them," Percy frowned as he handed the note back to Alice.

"What are you talking about Percy?" Charlie questioned and Percy frowned at his uncle before letting out a resigned sigh.

"I'm guessing you haven't read very far into the book yet have you?" he asked as he exited the bathroom and headed for the stairs, my family giving him a wide birth once more.

"Good call on the aura thing," Emmett stated as we followed Percy's example and headed downstairs as well. A gave a grim nod of agreement.

"Okay, I'm reading next," Alice chirped when everyone had settled down though Rosalie was still glaring at Percy. Percy blinked at Alice's announcement before grinning. After making sure everyone was paying attention, Alice started to read.

"**MY MOTHER TEACHES ME BULLFIGHTING" **

"What?" Percy questioned, obviously confused and I could help rolling my eyes, how the heck were we supposed to know what the title meant.

"**We tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the windshield.**

**I didn't know how my mom could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas."**

I blinked, surprised by Sally's actions, obviously there was something really serious going on.

"Wait! We're reading about my life! What does what happened to me back then have to do with this so called threat!" Percy exclaimed his gaze stormy as he stared at the book in disbelief. "What happened to me before I reached camp and even after that has nothing to do with you, especially not when it's my own thoughts lain out on paper!" he didn't sound upset anymore, he sounded down right furious and it made me want to pull Bella and Renesmee behind me so I could protect them.

"I have a theory about that Percy but until I have more information, I need you to calm down so that we can continue reading," Carlisle stated in a business-like voice.

"Why do you want to read this, it holds nothing of interest, I can't imagine what threat could be hidden in my thoughts," Percy mumbled, looking absolutely distraught as he stared at the book with obvious pain on his face. Even worse, his mood was clearly effecting Jasper whose expression had become strained, as if he were trying to do something while failing miserably.

"I have to try and protect my family against the Aro and his followers," Carlisle said simply and I watched, almost fascinated as the strength seemed to drain out of Percy and he gave a half-hearted nod of approval.

"**Every time there was a flash of lightning, I looked at Grover sitting next to me in the backseat and I wondered if I'd gone insane, or if he was wearing some kind of shag-carpet pants. But, no, the smell was one I remembered from kindergarten field trips to the petting zoo— lanolin, like from wool. The smell of a wet barnyard animal.**

**All I could think to say was, "So, you and my mom... know each other?""**

There were a few snorts around the room at this response. What kind of a reaction was that to this kind of situation, he was worse than Bella!

"**Graver's eyes flitted to the rearview mirror, though there were no cars behind us. "Not exactly," he said.**

**"I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."**

"What? Like a stalker?" Emmett questioned, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"No!" Percy snapped, taking me slightly by surprise. I could understand why he would be upset about finding out that we were reading his thoughts ( I snorted at the irony of that) but really, couldn't he get over that already? Where was the sarcastic and almost funny kid that we'd been reading about for the past few chapter and that I'd met before he'd gone into Bella's room the first time.

"**"Watching me?"**

**"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I am your friend."**

**"Urn ... what **_**are **_**you, exactly?"**

**"That doesn't matter right now."**

**"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—""**

Emmett smothered as snicker at that.

"**Grover let out a sharp, throaty **_**"Blaa-ha-ha!"**_

**I'd heard him make that sound before, but I'd always assumed it was a nervous laugh. Now I realized it was more of an irritated bleat.**

**"Goat!" he cried.**

**"What?"**

**"I'm a **_**goat **_**from the waist down.""**

"A satyr," I suddenly came to the realization and Percy nodded in confirmation.

"**"You just said it didn't matter.""**

"He has a point," Renesmee agreed and Percy grinned, he better not started liking my daughter!

"**"Blaa-ha-ha! There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!"**

**"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like ... Mr. Brunner's myths?"**

**"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a **_**myth, **_**Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?"**

**"So you **_**admit **_**there was a Mrs. Dodds!""**

"Duh," Rosalie snorted and Percy was back to glaring at her.

"I had to make sure, you try living with the thought that you're crazy and we'll see how that works for you," Percy snapped.

"**"Of course."**

**"Then why—"**

**"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Grover said, like that should be perfectly obvious."**

"What does he mean by "attract"?" Bella questioned, giving the book an uncertain look.

"People like me attract monsters because of our sent. I don't know why but…" Percy trailed off with a shock and I found I wasn't the only one frowning because of Percy's explanation. Did that mean that all the monsters Percy dealt with were like vampires? Mrs. Dodds had certainly sounded like a suspicious enough character to turn out to be soul sucker or something along those lines.

"**"We put Mist over the humans' eyes." **

"What?" we all chorused and Percy sighed.

"Look, I really can't explain everything to you, you'll just have to find out the way I did," Percy concluded sounding tired. I gritted my teeth in annoyance at being kept in the dark once more.

""**We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realize who you are."**

**"Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?""**

_Good question, _I thought sullenly.

"**The weird bellowing noise rose up again somewhere behind us, closer than before. Whatever was chasing us was still on our trail."**

Esme tensed, letting out a squeak-like sound

"**"Percy," my mom said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."**

**"Safety from what? Who's after me?"**

**"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions.""**

"What!" my exclamation was one of many as we all took to staring at Percy in disbelief, how could he have Hades, if my memory was not mistaken, after him. What had he done?

"**"Grover!"**

**"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"**

**I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening, but I couldn't do it. I knew this wasn't a dream. I had no imagination. I could never dream up something this weird.**

**My mom made a hard left. We swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hillsand PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.**

**"Where are we going?" I asked.**

**"The summer camp I told you about." My mother's voice was tight; she was trying for my sake not to be scared." **

I blinked at this announcement, what exactly was this camp, Percy had mentioned it earlier as well.

"**"The place your father wanted to send you."**

**"The place you didn't want me to go."**

**"Please, dear," my mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."**

**"Because some old ladies cut yarn.""**

"Percy, please tell me those weren't the fates," Bella's voice was small as she begged this and Percy grimaced, giving no answer. The fates, wouldn't that mean that Percy would die soon, seventeen was still young, Percy could very well be doomed to die soon. I felt a chill run down my spine at the thought. No matter how intimidating and quick-tempered Percy was, he certainly didn't deserve to die.

"**"Those weren't old ladies," Grover said. "Those were the Fates. Do you know what it means—the fact they appeared in front of you? They only do that when you're about to ... when someone's about to die.""**

Several people's breaths caught at hearing this and I glanced over at Bella worriedly, she wouldn't take well to hearing her cousin die.

"**"Whoa. You said 'you.'"**

**"No I didn't. I said 'someone.'"**

**"You meant 'you.' As in **_**me. **_**"**

**"I meant **_**you, **_**like 'someone.' Not you, **_**you. **_**""**

Emmett gave a nervous chuckle at the argument.

"**"Boys!" my mom said.**

**She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and I got a glimpse of a figure she'd swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind us in the storm."**

I frowned, leaning forward as if that would somehow help me figure out what was going on.

"**"What was that?" I asked.**

**"We're almost there," my mother said, ignoring my question. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please.""**

Renesmee seemed to be nodding in eager agreement with Sally's pleas.

"**I didn't know where **_**there **_**was, but I found myself leaning forward in the car, anticipating, wanting us to arrive."**

I sat back up as I realized that I'd been doing the same.

"**Outside, nothing but rain and darkness—the kind of empty countryside you get way out on the tip of Long Island. I thought about Mrs. Dodds and the moment when she'd changed into the thing with pointed teeth and leathery wings. My limbs went numb from delayed shock. She really **_**hadn't **_**been human.**

**She'd meant to kill me."**

Rosalie snorted, the only one unaffected by Percy's impending doom and said person shot her another dirty look which she promptly ignored.

"**Then I thought about Mr. Brunner ... and the sword he had thrown me. Before I could ask Grover about that, the hair rose on the back of my neck. There was a blinding flash, a jaw-rattling **_**boom!, **_**and our car exploded."**

"What!" Bella exclaimed, shooting up out of her seat and giving the book a disbelieving look. Charlie seemed to have frozen in his seat.

"Calm down Bells, I'm right here remember?" Percy said in a soothing voice as he stood up and softly pushed her back into her seat, completely oblivious to the fact that he should be cowering in fear at her current mood.

"**I remember feeling weightless, like I was being crushed, fried, and hosed down all at the same time."**

Esme, Charlie, Jacob, Renesmee and Bella cringed at the description while Percy simply shrugged at the book and went to sit against one of the wall of the living room.

"**I peeled my forehead off the back of the driver's seat and said, "Ow.""**

I couldn't help it, I snorted at Percy's reaction.

"**"Percy!" my mom shouted.**

**"I'm okay... ."**

**I tried to shake off the daze. I wasn't dead. The car hadn't really exploded. We'd swerved into a ditch.**

**Our driver's-side doors were wedged in the mud. The roof had cracked open like an eggshell and rain was pouring in.**

**Lightning." **

Excluding Carlisle and Rosalie, the rest of my family's mouths had dropped open at the declaration.

"You've got Zeus after you as well, haven't you?" Carlisle questioned sounding thoughtful. Thunder boomed in the distance, my head swivelling to were the sound had come from as I frowned in confusion.

"You should probably refrain from using the gods' names so casually, their very unpredictable when they feel their being disrespected." Percy stated and I raised an eyebrow but decided not to ask what he meant by it. There were enough stories in Greek Mythology that told about the rage of the gods.

""**That was the only explanation. We'd been blasted right off the road. Next to me in the backseat was a big motionless lump. "Grover!""**

"Oh no!" Esme sounded fearful as she raised her hand to her lips.

"**He was slumped over, blood trickling from the side of his mouth. I shook his furry hip, thinking, No!**

**Even if you are half barnyard animal, you're my best friend and I don't want you to die!**

**Then he groaned "Food," and I knew there was hope."**

Emmett snickered and was promptly punched in the shoulder by Alice.

"**"Percy," my mother said, "we have to ..." Her voice faltered.**

**I looked back. In a flash of lightning, through the mud-spattered rear windshield, I saw a figure lumbering toward us on the shoulder of the road. The sight of it made my skin crawl. It was a dark silhouette of a huge guy, like a football player. He seemed to be holding a blanket over his head. His top half was bulky and fuzzy. His upraised hands made it look like he had horns."**

I found myself gulping at the thought.

"**I swallowed hard. "Who is—"**

**"Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."**

**My mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. I tried mine.**

**Stuck too. I looked up desperately at the hole in the roof. It might've been an exit, but the edges were sizzling and smoking.**

**"Climb out the passenger's side!" my mother told me. "Percy—you have to run. Do you see that big tree?"**

**"What?"**

**Another flash of lightning, and through the smoking hole in the roof I saw the tree she meant: a huge, White House Christmas tree-sized pine at the crest of the nearest hill.**

**"That's the property line," my mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door."**

**"Mom, you're coming too.""**

I stared at Esme, my gut clenching as I imagined her in the situation, it wasn't right.

"**Her face was pale, her eyes as sad as when she looked at the ocean.**

**"No!" I shouted. "You **_**are **_**coming with me. Help me carry Grover.""**

I looked over at Percy who was staring straight ahead as if he wasn't seeing anything, his pale face was not an encouraging sight. 

"**"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder.**

**The man with the blanket on his head kept coming toward us, making his grunting, snorting noises. As he got closer, I realized he **_**couldn't **_**be holding a blanket over his head, because his hands—huge meaty hands—were swinging at his sides. There was no blanket. Meaning the bulky, fuzzy mass that was too big to be his head ... was his head. And the points that looked like horns ..."**

I felt cold as I imagined the monster Percy was describing, my thoughts failing me.

"**"He doesn't want **_**us **_**," my mother told me. "He wants **_**you. **_**Besides, I can't cross the property line."**

**"But..."**

**"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."**

**I got mad, then" **

I clenched my teeth, this wasn't the time to be getting mad, he really was as bad as Bella.

"—**mad at my mother, at Grover the goat, at the thing with horns that was lumbering toward us slowly and deliberately like, like a bull."**

"The Minotaur," Came my family and I's collective gasps as realization struck but Percy showed no sign of having heard us. His green eyes turning stormy like the see at its worst.

"**I climbed across Grover and pushed the door open into the rain. "We're going together. Come on, Mom."**

**"I told you—"**

**"Mom! I am not leaving you. Help me with Grover."**

**I didn't wait for her answer. I scrambled outside, dragging Grover from the car. He was surprisingly light, but I couldn't have carried him very far if my mom hadn't come to my aid.**

**Together, we draped Grover's arms over our shoulders and started stumbling uphill through wet waist-high grass."**

Bella groaned, seemingly frustrated with Percy's building bad luck, it seemed it was part of the family genes.

"**Glancing back, I got my first clear look at the monster. He was seven feet tall, easy, his arms and legs like something from the cover of **_**Muscle Man **_**magazine—bulging biceps and triceps and a bunch of other 'ceps, all stuffed like baseballs under vein-webbed skin." **

Immediately I had the picture of the monster owning a body much like Emmett's if not more muscular and the thought made my stomach flip.

"**He wore no clothes except underwear—"**

"What?" Jacob spoke for the first time in a long time, letting out a nervous laugh along with the question.

"**I mean, bright white Fruit of the Looms—" **

We all laughed at the image and I couldn't help feeling relieved by the short break from the tension that had been building up from the beginning of the chapter.

"**-which would've looked funny, except that the top half of his body was so scary." **

Unfortunately we sobered up again after hearing this.

"**Coarse brown hair started at about his belly button and got thicker as it reached his shoulders.**

**His neck was a mass of muscle and fur leading up to his enormous head, which had a snout as long as my arm," **

That was just terrific, the thing was obviously well beyond ridiculously huge.

"**-snotty nostrils with a gleaming brass ring, cruel black eyes, and horns—enormous black-and-white horns with points you just couldn't get from an electric sharpener."**

Emmett got a good laugh out of that one while I managed a smile, if nothing else, Percy at least had interesting thoughts in the face of danger.

"**I recognized the monster, all right. He had been in one of the first stories Mr. Brunner told us. But he couldn't be real."**

I frowned, at least this was a somewhat normal reaction towards discovering the unnatural.

"**I blinked the rain out of my eyes. "That's—"**

**"Pasiphae's son," my mother said. "I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."**

**"But he's the Min—"**

**"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power.""**

I still couldn't really understand that but I respected Sally's knowledge of Greek Mythology, it seemed she'd really done her homework on Greek Mythology.

"**The pine tree was still way too far—a hundred yards uphill at least.**

**I glanced behind me again.**

**The bull-man hunched over our car, looking in the windows— or not looking, exactly. More like snuffling, nuzzling.**

**I wasn't sure why he bothered, since we were only about fifty feet away.**

**"Food?" Grover moaned.**

**"Shhh," I told him. "Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?""**

"Yeah, doesn't he?" Emmett agreed with a confused frown.

"**"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough.""**

"Well that's just fantastic," came Bella's sarcastic comment.

"**As if on cue, the bull-man bellowed in rage. He picked up Gabe's Camaro by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning." **

Rosalie grimaced at the abuse of the car.

""**He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded."**

I was sure my eyes were wide as I stared at the book, thank goodness no one was still sat in the car.

"**Not a scratch, I remembered Gabe saying.**

**Oops."**

Emmett roared in laughter and Esme gave a weak but still very smug smile, clearly she hadn't liked Gabe one bit.

"**"Percy," my mom said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way— directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?""**

Carlisle and Jasper nodded their heads in agreement as if they'd suddenly turned into brilliant monster (vampires and werewolves excluded) fighters.

"**"How do you know all this?"**

**"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I shouldhave expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."**

**"Keeping me near you? But—"**

**Another bellow of rage, and the bull-man started tromping uphill.**

**He'd smelled us.**

**The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter."**

Bella groaned again yet Percy made no effort to calm her, seemingly lost in thought.

"**The bull-man closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of us.**

**My mother must've been exhausted, but she shouldered Grover. "Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said."**

**I didn't want to split up, but I had the feeling she was right—it was our only chance. I sprinted to the left, turned, and saw the creature bearing down on me. His black eyes glowed with hate. He reeked like rotten meat."**

Everyone grimaced and the girl, Rosalie included, all made sounds of displeasure.

"**He lowered his head and charged, those razor-sharp horns aimed straight at my chest.**

The part of my mind that wasn't focused on the story took note that a lot of the occupants in the room seemed to be holding their breath.

"**The fear in my stomach made me want to bolt, but that wouldn't work. I could never outrun this thing.**

**So I held my ground, and at the last moment, I jumped to the side.**

**The bull-man stormed past like a freight train," **

Those who'd been holding their breath let it out in a sigh of relief but it seemed our relief was short-lived.

"**-then bellowed with frustration and turned, but not toward me this time, toward my mother, who was setting Grover down in the grass."**

"No," Esme breathed, both she and Bella looking horrified at the thought.

"**We'd reached the crest of the hill. Down the other side I could see a valley, just as my mother had said, and the lights of a farmhouse glowing yellow through the rain. But that was half a mile away. We'd never make it.**

**The bull-man grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing my mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover.**

**"Run, Percy!" she told me. "I can't go any farther. Run!"**

**But I just stood there, frozen in fear, as the monster charged her. She tried to sidestep, as she'd told me to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air."**

I stiffly turned my head towards Percy who still hadn't moved from the position he'd been in since sitting down against the wall the first time and I suddenly understood the reason for his stormy mood.

"**"Mom!"**

**She caught my eyes, managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"**

**Then, with an angry roar, the monster closed his fists around my mother's neck, and she dissolved before my eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply ... gone."**

Esme let out a dry sob, her vampirism preventing her from crying.

**"No!"**

**Anger replaced my fear. Newfound strength burned in my limbs—the same rush of energy I'd gotten when Mrs. Dodds grew talons."**

I leaned forward, interested despite myself and it seemed I wasn't the only one.

"**The bull-man bore down on Grover, who lay helpless in the grass. The monster hunched over, snuffling my best friend, as if he were about to lift Grover up and make him dissolve too.**

**I couldn't allow that.**

**I stripped off my red rain jacket."**

I blinked but didn't say anything as I recalled that it was a _red _rain jacket, he wouldn't… would he?

"**"Hey!" I screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!""**

Yup, unfortunately it seemed he would.

"**"Raaaarrrrr!" The monster turned toward me, shaking his meaty fists.**

**I had an idea—a stupid idea, but better than no idea at all. I put my back to the big pine tree and waved my red jacket in front of the bull-man, thinking I'd jump out of the way at the last moment.**

**But it didn't happen like that."**

"Oh no!" Charlie groaned out, seemingly his nerves winning over the shock that had kept him frozen and quiet for so long.

"**The bull-man charged too fast, his arms out to grab me whichever way I tried to dodge.**

**Time slowed down.**

**My legs tensed. I couldn't jump sideways, so I leaped straight up, kicking off from the creature's head, using it as a springboard, turning in midair, and landing on his neck."**

"Whoa! How'd you do that!" Emmett exclaimed, asking the question burning in my mind but Percy just continued to stare ahead, his face pale and eyes haunted.

"**How did I do that? I didn't have time to figure it out. A millisecond later, the monster's head slammed into the tree and the impact nearly knocked my teeth out.**

**The bull-man staggered around, trying to shake me. I locked my arms around his horns to keep from being thrown. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. The rain was in my eyes. The smell of rotten meat burned my nostrils."**

Faces were pulled in disgust at the thought while Alice seemed to be struggling to keep her reading at a pace that Charlie and Percy would understand.

"**The monster shook himself around and bucked like a rodeo bull. He should have just backed up into the tree and smashed me flat," **

"Don't go giving it advice!" Renesmee screeched sounding slightly panicked, as if afraid that the bull would hear his thoughts.

"**-but I was starting to realize that this thing had only one gear: forward.**

**Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass. I wanted to yell at him to shut up, but the way I was getting tossed around, if I opened my mouth I'd bite my own tongue off.**

**"Food!" Grover moaned.**

**The bull-man wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. I thought about how he had squeezed the life out of my mother, made her disappear in a flash of light, and rage filled me like high-octane fuel." **

Again I was curious, what he did next could maybe give us an idea of how dangerous he was.

"**I got both hands around one horn and I pulled backward with all my might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—**_**snap!"**_

"What!" came the surprised chorus, that was impossible, Percy was still human even if only half, did being half god really have the ability to give him extra strength like that?

"**The bull-man screamed and flung me through the air. I landed flat on my back in the grass. My head smacked against a rock." **

I was remind of when I'd seen Bella in the ballet studio, her head bleeding from where it had hit the mirror.

"**When I sat up, my vision was blurry," **

I couldn't help noting that Percy seemed only slightly dazed by all the abuse his body had gone through, suggesting that as a child of a god, his body was tougher than a normal humans.

"**-but I had a horn in my hands, a ragged bone weapon the size of a knife.**

**The monster charged.**

**Without thinking, I rolled to one side and came up kneeling. As the monster barreled past, I drove the broken horn straight into his side, right up under his furry rib cage.**

**The bull-man roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest, then began to disintegrate—not like my mother, in a flash of golden light, but like crumbling sand, blown away in chunks by the wind, the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart."**

_Why did they keep mentioning his mother, was there something weird going on or am I overthinking this? _I couldn't help wondering.

"**The monster was gone."**

Emmett broke into cheers at that and Percy finally seemed to come out of his daze and gave Emmett a half smile.

"**The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. I smelled like livestock and my knees were shaking. My head felt like it was splitting open. I was weak and scared and trembling with grief, I'd just seen my mother vanish. I wanted to lie down and cry, but there was Grover, needing my help, so I managed to haul him up and stagger down into the valley, toward the lights of the farmhouse."**

One thing was clear about Percy and that was that he was brave and surprisingly strong, not physically but mentally, to be willing to go on after all that had just occurred instead of just curling into a ball under that tree.

"**I was crying, calling for my mother, but I held on to Grover—I wasn't going to let him go.**

**The last thing I remember is collapsing on a wooden porch, looking up at a ceiling fan circling above me, moths flying around a yellow light, and the stern faces of a familiar-looking bearded man and a pretty girl, her blond hair curled like a princess's." **

Emmett and Jacob whistled at this declaration while shooting Percy suggestive looks which he surprising grinned at.

""**They both looked down at me, and the girl said, "He's the one. He must be.""**

Great, now I was confused. Again.

"**"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring him inside.""**

"Well, that was certainly interesting," Jasper said his voice slightly strained as he tried to compose himself after all the emotional turmoil he must've experienced during the chapter.

Everyone except for Percy and Rosalie nodded in silent agreement.

**Before anyone tries to murder me with an axe or something along those lines, I am strictly Percabeth, Percy and Renesmee are simply getting along well because she's his cousin's daughter and because she's the only who doesn't have an obvious hostility towards him. Jacob wasn't really hostile towards him either but he didn't make an effort to talk to Percy so Percy wouldn't've really been able to smile at him for no reason now would he? Except if he was weird of course. Anyway now I'm babbling so I'll just say that I wanted to reassure you of that, all pairings are canon. **

**Hope you enjoyed and are willing to review. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey, the next chapter's finally up. I really wanted to apologize but I just finished up with exams so that's why I wasn't able to update for so long but I'm so relieved it's over. Anyway, hope all of you enjoy this chapter. Thanks.**

Chapter 5:

"But this doesn't make sense," Charlie suddenly mumbled, his full attention now turned towards Percy who sighed in resignation. "I just talked to Sally a few hours ago," Charlie mumbled, still staring at Percy in obvious shock.

"It's hard to explain, but no, she's not dead," Percy agreed, his eyes lowered to his knees and I was hit with the realization that even after five, six years, Percy still felt guilty somehow about what had happened to his mother.

"Well, who's reading next!" Alice exclaimed, obviously not too pleased that she'd had to read one of the sad chapters but always determined to stay positive.

"My turn," Renesmee exclaimed, hopping up out of Jacob's arms and getting the book before sitting back down.

"I don't know why you're so keen on reading about my life, it's really not that interesting you should here about Annabeth's, or Nico's or Hazel, heck even…. Luke had a hard life, its part of being a demigod," Percy explained, scowling as he glared at the book while Esme looked horrified by his announcement and Charlie shifted around uncomfortably.

"Anyway, I suppose there's no use to complain now," Percy sighed.

"**I PLAY PINOCHLE WITH A HORSE"**

Emmett snickered but luckily he seemed to be getting used to the new chapter titles, if that was even possible.

"**I had weird dreams full of barnyard animals. Most of them wanted to kill me. The rest wanted food."**

Well now Emmett was back to full out laughter.

"**I must've woken up several times, but what I heard and saw made no sense, so I just passed out again." **

Best sulotion there is," Jacob snorted rolling his eyes while Percy grinned in agreement.

"**I remember lying in a soft bed, being spoon-fed something that tasted like buttered popcorn, only it was pudding."**

My family and I made faces but didn't comment.

"**The girl with curly blond hair hovered over me, smirking as she scraped drips off my chin with the spoon.**

**When she saw my eyes open, she asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?""**

"That's what we'd like to know," Jacob reassured the book while I smothered a snort at his idiocy.

"**I managed to croak, "What?"**

**She looked around, as if afraid someone would overhear.**

**"What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"**

**"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "I don't..."**

**Somebody knocked on the door, and the girl quickly filled my mouth with pudding."**

I saw Percy roll his eyes while Emmett howled in laughter once more.

"**The next time I woke up, the girl was gone."  
**"Disappointed are we?" Emmett snickered.

"Not at the time," Percy assured with a shake of his head.

"**A husky blond dude, like a surfer, stood in the corner of the bedroom keeping watch over me. He had**

**blue eyes— at least a dozen of them"**

"What!" came the shocked exclamation while I tried my best to imagine what Percy had just mentioned.

"Argus, his a being made by _Hera,_" Percy explained but the way he said Hera's name made me pause, both from how casually he'd used it when he'd told us not to, and from the anger that had laced it.

"—**on his cheeks, his forehead, the backs of his hands.**

**When I finally came around for good, there was nothing weird about my surroundings, except that they were nicer than I was used to." **

"That's sad," Esme murmured so lowly that only vampires could've heard her. Percy didn't react to the comment, which assured me that vampires still had some advantages over demigods.

"**I was sitting in a deck chair on a huge porch, gazing across a meadow at green hills in the distance. The breeze smelled like strawberries. There was a blanket over my legs, a pillow behind my neck. All that was great, but my mouth felt like a scorpion had been using it for a nest."**

"Speaking from experience?" Emmett questioned.

"Almost," Percy conceded and I blinked, trying to figure out whether or not to take him seriously.

"**My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt.**

**On the table next to me was a tall drink. It looked like iced apple juice, with a green straw and a paper parasol stuck through a maraschino cherry.**

**My hand was so weak I almost dropped the glass once I got my fingers around it.**

**"Careful," a familiar voice said.**

**Grover was leaning against the porch railing, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. Under one arm, he cradled a shoe box. He was wearing blue jeans, Converse hi-tops and a bright orange T-shirt that said CAMP HALF-BLOOD. Just plain old Grover, Not the goat boy.**

**So maybe I'd had a nightmare. Maybe my mom was okay. We were still on vacation, and we'd stopped here at this big house for some reason. And ...**

I watched as Percy's brow furrowed while he looked frustrated but why, I couldn't say. As I continued to stare, trying to figure it out, I suddenly realized that I recognized the look. It was the same looked Bella had warn when I'd first asked her about why she'd moved here and she'd said that it was because she wanted her mom to be happy. Percy was frustrated by the pity visible on my family members and Charlie's face.

"**"You saved my life," Grover said. "I... well, the least I could do ... I went back to the hill. I thought you might want this."**

**Reverently, he placed the shoe box in my lap.**

**Inside was a black-and-white bull's horn, the base jagged from being broken off, the tip splattered with dried blood. It hadn't been a nightmare."**

"How was that possible. Why would a demigod be so strong?" I was slightly surprised by Jasper's question, he'd been so quiet ever since Percy woke up and joined us. It was understandable really, since Jasper was the newest vegetarian besides Bella, he still sometimes struggled with his bloodlust and Percy's blood was unbelievably tempting. I was pretty sure that my brother only took breaths whenever he felt the need to comment but had forgone breathing otherwise so he wouldn't have to smell Percy's blood.

"It's because of the lives we lead. Because we're in danger so often, we need certain advantages to allowed us at least a chance to survive if we were to encounter a monster without training the way most of my friends and I did. If we were normal humans with the way our blood smelt, then I doubt we would've survive past our tenth birthday," Percy explained with a shrug before setting his eyes on Bella. "I don't know how you survived cus," he grinned, causing me to raise an eyebrow, though I didn't question him.

"**"The Minotaur," I said.**

**"Urn, Percy, it isn't a good idea—"**

**"That's what they call him in the Greek myths, isn't it?" I demanded. "The Minotaur. Half man, half bull."**

**Grover shifted uncomfortably. "You've been out for two days. How much do you remember?"**

**"My mom. Is she really ..."**

**He looked down.**

**I stared across the meadow. There were groves of trees, a winding stream, acres of strawberries spread out under the blue sky. The valley was surrounded by rolling hills, and the tallest one, directly in front of us, was the one with the huge pine tree on top. Even that looked beautiful in the sunlight.**

**My mother was gone. The whole world should be black and cold. Nothing should look beautiful."**

Once again, Esme looked about ready to cry but when I looked over at Percy, he was staring at the book in sheer determination, as if willing himself not to respond.

"**"I'm sorry," Grover sniffled. "I'm a failure. I'm—I'm the worst satyr in the world.""**

"No you're not, it was said softly and it was immediately obvious that Percy hadn't intended for anyone to hear so I decided to ignore it.

"**He moaned, stomping his foot so hard it came off."**

There was a second's pause as everyone registered that Grover was wearing fake feet.

"**I mean, the Converse hi-top came off. The inside was filled with Styrofoam, except for a hoof-shaped hole.**

**"Oh, Styx!" he mumbled."**

"That's like oh hell," Percy informed us before any of us had the chance to ask, when had _he _become the psychic?

"**Thunder rolled across the clear sky.**

**As he struggled to get his hoof back in the fake foot, I thought, Well, that settles it.**

**Grover was a satyr. I was ready to bet that if I shaved his curly brown hair, I'd find tiny horns on his head. But I was too miserable to care that satyrs existed, or even minotaurs. All that meant was my mom really had been squeezed into nothingness, dissolved into yellow light."**

"Does the light have something to do with why she's not really dead?" Bella questioned with a frown and Percy nodded in confirmation.

"**I was alone. An orphan. I would have to live with ... Smelly Gabe? No. That would never happen. I**

**would live on the streets first. I would pretend I was seventeen and join the army. I'd do something.**

**Grover was still sniffling. The poor kid—poor goat, satyr, whatever—"**

We were all snickering by the end of that.

"**looked as if he expected to be hit.**

**I said, "It wasn't your fault."**

**"Yes, it was. I was supposed to **_**protect **_**you."**

**"Did my mother ask you to protect me?"**

**"No. But that's my job. I'm a keeper. At least... I was.""**

"Wait, didn't it say something about a keeper on that card he gave you?" Jacob questioned, brow furrowed in concentration. Percy blinked before nodding.

"Keeps are like scouts, the find demigods and try and bring them back to camp safely," Percy explained.

"**"But why ..." I suddenly felt dizzy, my vision swimming.**

**"Don't strain yourself," Grover said. "Here." He helped me hold my glass and put the straw to my lips.**

**I recoiled at the taste, because I was expecting apple juice. It wasn't that at all. It was chocolate-chip cookies. Liquid cookies." **

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" Rosalie sneered, staring at the book in disgust.

"For humans, yes," Percy hissed back, his voice just as sharp as Rosalie's.

"**And not just any cookies—my mom's homemade blue chocolate-chip cookies, buttery and hot, with the chips still melting. Drinking it, my whole body felt warm and good, full of energy.**

**My grief didn't go away, but I felt as if my mom had just brushed her hand against my cheek, given me a cookie the way she used to when I was small, and told me everything was going to be okay."**

Esme bit her lips, looking distraught but surprisingly, Percy smiled at her. "You remind me of her actually, I'm sure you two would get along great. Maybe you can meet her when she come's visit me," Percy said with a thoughtful look as he tapped his chin in consideration. Esme brightened, obviously eager to meet Sally, especially considering that she didn't really get to meet other mothers.

"**Before I knew it, I'd drained the glass. I stared into it, sure I'd just had a warm drink, but the ice cubes hadn't even melted."**

"Why's that?" Carlisle spoke up, he'd been so quiet that I thought he'd stopped listening for the most part. He gave Percy a curious look.

"It's nectar, food of the gods. It's great since it taste like whatever you want it to at that moment but too much of it can kill demigods and it can make any human spontanuosly combust. I'm not sure if it'd do the same to you but it's probably better not to try. But, for a demigod, it has healing ability, as long as you drink the right amount of course," Percy explained and my eyes widened slightly at the announcement. If their organs were that tough, did that mean it'd be harder for them to become ill?

As I glanced over to Carlisle, I couldn't help feeling as if he was wondering the same thing, even if I didn't have my mindreading abilities at the moment.

"**"Was it good?" Grover asked.**

**I nodded.**

**"What did it taste like?" He sounded so wistful, I felt guilty.**

**"Sorry," I said. "I should've let you taste.""**

"Good thing I didn't" Percy grinned.

"**His eyes got wide. "No! That's not what I meant. I just... wondered."**

**"Chocolate-chip cookies," I said. "My mom's. Homemade."**

**He sighed. "And how do you feel?"**

**"Like I could throw Nancy Bobofit a hundred yards.""**

"That good?" Emmett chuckled.

"**"That's good," he said. "That's good. I don't think you could risk drinking any more of that stuff"**

**"What do you mean?"**

**He took the empty glass from me gingerly, as if it were dynamite, and set it back on the table. "Come on. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting.""**

I snickered to myself, what kind of guy called himself Mr. D?

"**The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse.**

**My legs felt wobbly, trying to walk that far. Grover offered to carry the Minotaur horn, but I held on to it. I'd paid for that souvenir the hard way. I wasn't going to let it go."**

I nodded my head in sympathy, it made sense.

"**As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath.**

**We must've been on the north shore of Long Island, because on this side of the house, the valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, I simply couldn't process everything I was seeing. The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture—an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena—except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun. In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods.**

**Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings."**

"Pegesi?" Bella questioned in disbelief.

"Don't look at me like that Bella, you're a vampire for crying out loud!" Percy said with a roll of his eyes.

"**Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. The blond-haired girl who'd spoon-fed me popcorn-flavored pudding was leaning on the porch rail next to them.**

**The man facing me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He looked like those paintings of baby angels— what do you call them, hubbubs?**

**No, cherubs."**

The room was in metaphorical tears at the description, probably all trying to picture the cherub shaped man, I know I was and I have to admit it made me laugh even more at the image that my mind present me with.

"**That's it. He looked like a cherub who'd turned middle-aged in a trailer park. He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt, and he would've fit right in at one of Gabe's poker parties, except I got the feeling this guy could've out-gambled even my stepfather.**

**"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. Be polite. The girl, that's Annabeth Chase. She's just a camper, but she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron..."**

**He pointed at the guy whose back was to me.**

**First, I realized he was sitting in the wheelchair." **

"No way!" was heard around the room while Jacob gasped in shock and Charlie stared at the book wide eyed.

"**Then I recognized the tweed jacket, the thinning brown hair, the scraggly beard.**

**"Mr. Brunner!" I cried.**

**The Latin teacher turned and smiled at me. His eyes had that mischievous glint they sometimes got in class when he pulled a pop quiz and made all the multiple choice answers **_**B**_**.**

I pursed my lips, that was actually a very good tactic, it would force the students to wonder if they actually got all the answers right.

"**"Ah, good, Percy," he said. "Now we have four for pinochle."**

**He offered me a chair to the right of Mr. D, who looked at me with bloodshot eyes and heaved a great sigh. "Oh, I suppose I must say it. Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. There. Now, don't expect me to be glad to see you.""**

"Well he's…pleasant," Esme said, obviously looking quit disgruntled though, lucky for _Mr. D _Gabe obviously still earned all of Esme's hatred otherwise she probably would've aimed it his way.

"**"Uh, thanks." I scooted a little farther away from him because,**_**if **_**there was one thing I had learned from living with Gabe, it was how to tell when an adult has been hitting the happy juice. If Mr. D was a stranger to alcohol, I was a satyr.**

**"Annabeth?" Mr. Brunner called to the blond girl.**

**She came forward and Mr. Brunner introduced us. "This young lady nursed you back to health, Percy. Annabeth, my dear, why don't you go check on Percy's bunk? We'll be putting him in cabin eleven for now."**

**Annabeth said, "Sure, Chiron."**

**She was probably my age, maybe a couple of inches taller, and a whole lot more athletic looking. With her deep tan and her curly blond hair, she was almost exactly what I thought a stereotypical California girl would look like, except her eyes ruined the image. They were startling gray, like storm clouds; pretty, but intimidating, too, as if she were analysing the best way to take me down in a fight."**

I grinned, this girl seemed bright, why had she not been the one we'd been reading about? Percy did mention that she'd had a more difficult life then he had and she sounded like a fast learner, would she not have been better if a demigod's life had been necessary to school us. Maybe I was putting too much faith in Percy's first impression of the girl, or was there a reason we'd gotten Percy's life story instead of another demigod's?

"**She glanced at the minotaur horn in my hands, then back at me. I imagined she was going to say, **_**You killed a mino**_**taur! or **_**Wow, you're so awesome! **_**or something like that."**

"Already so arregont," Rosalie sneered though I wondered if she realized that she really didn't have any room to take. On the other hand, I had to admit that she had a point.

"I don't know what I was thinking. Annabeth is not the praising type," Percy agreed with a grin, his lack of a snide remark surprised me slightly and I suspected Rosalie as well.

"**Instead she said, "You drool when you sleep.""**

There was a roar of laughter from Emmett that drowned out our laughter but boy was I laughing as well.

"**Then she sprinted off down the lawn, her blond hair flying behind her.**

**"So," I said, anxious to change the subject. "You, uh, work here, Mr. Brunner?"**

**"Not Mr. Brunner," the ex—Mr. Brunner said." **

I rolled my eyes at his choice of words.

"**"I'm afraid that was a pseudonym. You may call me Chiron."**

**"Okay." Totally confused, I looked at the director. "And Mr. D ... does that stand for something?"**

**Mr. D stopped shuffling the cards. He looked at me like I'd just belched loudly. "Young man, names are powerful things. You don't just go around using them for no reason."**

**"Oh. Right. Sorry."**

**"I must say, Percy," Chiron-Brunner broke in, "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made a house call to a potential camper. I'd hate to think I've wasted my time."**

"Well, that comforting," Jacob snorted while Percy nodded his head in agreement.

"**"House call?"**

**"My year at Yancy Academy, to instruct you. We have satyrs at most schools, of course, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... ah, take a leave of absence.""**

"And are you? Something special I mean," Bella questioned and I knew that were it still possible, she would've been blushing.

"Well my mom always thought so," Percy teased but he didn't elaborate any further.

"**I tried to remember the beginning of the school year. It seemed like so long ago, but I did have a fuzzy memory of there being another Latin teacher my first week at Yancy. Then, without explanation, he had disappeared and Mr. Brunner had taken the class.**

**"You came to Yancy just to teach me?" I asked."**

"Don't inflate his ego!" Emmett yelled and I watched in amusement as Percy turned red with embarrassment.

"**Chiron nodded. "Honestly, I wasn't sure about you at first."**

"Gee thanks," came Percy's sarcastic remark though his smile ruined the statement.

"**We contacted your mother, let her know we were keeping an eye on you in case you were ready for Camp Half-Blood. But you still had so much to learn. Nevertheless, you made it here alive, and that's always the first test.""**

"Is it really?" Renesmee asked sounding slightly anxious and Percy nodded in confirmation.

"**"Grover," Mr. D said impatiently, "are you playing or not?"**

**"Yes, sir!" Grover trembled as he took the fourth chair, though I didn't know why he should be so afraid of a pudgy little man in a tiger-print Hawaiian shirt."**

I narrowed my eyes at the book. So the man was probably a god, cupid perhaps?

"**"You **_**do **_**know how to play pinochle?" Mr. D eyed me suspiciously.**

**"I'm afraid not," I said.**

**"I'm afraid not, **_**sir**_**," he said.**

**"Sir," I repeated. I was liking the camp director less and less."**

"Same," Jacob and Jasper agreed at the same time and Percy grinned.

"**"Well," he told me, "it is, along with gladiator fighting and Pac-Man, one of the greatest games ever invented by humans. I would expect all **_**civilized **_**young men to know the rules."**

**"I'm sure the boy can learn," Chiron said.**

**"Please," I said, "what is this place? What am I doing here? Mr. Brun—Chiron—why would you go to Yancy Academy just to teach me?"**

**Mr. D snorted. "I asked the same question.""**

'_So do I,'_ I thought, brow furrowing slightly in agitation, it seemed being able to read Percy's thoughts would not be enough to figure out the mystery that surrounded this boy.

"**The camp director dealt the cards. Grover flinched every time one landed in his pile."**

Percy grimaced but did not comment.

"**Chiron smiled at me sympathetically, the way he used to in Latin class, as if to let me know that no matter what my average was, **_**I **_**was his star student. He expected **_**me **_**to have the right answer.**

**"Percy," he said. "Did your mother tell you nothing?'**

**"She said ..." I remembered her sad eyes, looking out over the sea. "She told me she was afraid to send me here, even though my father had wanted her to. She said that once I was here, I probably couldn't leave. She wanted to keep me close to her."**

**"Typical," Mr. D said. "That's how they usually get killed."  
**"How rude!" Esme scolded and the sudden thunder on a cloudless day strengthened my belief that Mr. D was some sort of god, most probably a minor one?

""**Young man, are you bidding or not?"**

**"What?" I asked.**

**He explained, impatiently, how you bid in pinochle, and so I did.**

**"I'm afraid there's too much to tell," Chiron said. "I'm afraid our usual orientation film won't be sufficient."**

**"Orientation film?" I asked.**

**"No," Chiron decided. "Well, Percy. You know your friend Grover is a satyr. You know"—he pointed to the horn in the shoe box—"that you have killed the Minotaur. No small feat, either, lad. What you may not know is that great powers are at work in your life. Gods—the forces you call the Greek gods—are very much alive."**

**I stared at the others around the table.**

**I waited for somebody to yell, **_**Not! **_**But all I got was Mr. D yelling, "Oh, a royal marriage. Trick! Trick!""**

Emmett, Jasper, Jacob and I grinned at each other, Mr. D sounded mad.

"**He cackled as he tallied up his points.**

**"Mr. D," Grover asked timidly, "if you're not going to eat it, could I have your Diet Coke can?"**

**"Eh? Oh, all right."**

**Grover bit a huge shard out of the empty aluminum can and chewed it mournfully."**

"Grover eats tin cans?" Bella gapped and Percy gave a thoughtful frown.

"Yeah, though I'm not really sure how it works," Percy admitted with a shrug.

"**"Wait," I told Chiron. "You're telling me there's such a thing as God."**

**"Well, now," Chiron said. "God—capital **_**G **_**, God. That's a different matter altogether. We shan't deal with the metaphysical."**

**"Metaphysical? But you were just talking about—"**

**"Ah, gods, plural, as in, great beings that control the forces of nature and human endeavors: the immortal gods of Olympus. That's a smaller matter.""**

Percy snorted. "I think they'd beg to differ."

"**"Smaller?"**

**"Yes, quite. The gods we discussed in Latin class."**

**"Zeus," I said. "Hera. Apollo. You mean them."**

**And there it was again—distant thunder on a cloudless day.**

**"Young man," said Mr. D, "I would really be less casual about throwing those names around, if I were you.""**

Percy glared. "Thank goodness he's not,"

"**"But they're stories," I said. "They're—myths, to explain lightning and the seasons and stuff. They're what people believed before there was science.""**

Percy cringed slightly at his own ignorance but I couldn't really blame him.

"**"Science!" Mr. D scoffed. "And tell me, Perseus Jackson"—I flinched when he said my real name, which**

**I never told anybody—"what will people think of your 'science' two thousand years from now?" Mr. D continued. "Hmm? They will call it primitive mumbo jumbo. That's what. Oh, I love mortals—they have absolutely no sense of perspective. They think they've come **_**so-o-o **_**far. And have they, Chiron? Look at this boy and tell me."**

**I wasn't liking Mr. D much, but there was something about the way he called me mortal, as if... he wasn't. It was enough to put a lump in my throat, to suggest why Grover was dutifully minding his cards, chewing his soda can, and keeping his mouth shut.**

**"Percy," Chiron said, "you may choose to believe or not, but the fact is that **_**immortal **_**means immortal.**

**Can you imagine that for a moment, never dying? Never fading? Existing, just as you are, for all time?""**

Percy grinned, as if thinking of some private joke.

"**I was about to answer, off the top of my head, that it sounded like a pretty good deal, but the tone of Chiron's voice made me hesitate.**

Rosalie nodded, obviously satisfied. It was true; immortality could be a great curse.

"**"You mean, whether people believed in you or not," I said.**

**"Exactly," Chiron agreed. "If you were a god, how would you like being called a myth, an old story to explain lightning? What if I told you, Perseus Jackson, that someday people would call **_**you **_**a myth, just created to explain how little boys can get over losing their mothers?""**

I grimaced in sympathy, that had been cruel.

"**My heart pounded. He was trying to make me angry for some reason, but I wasn't going to let him. I said, "I wouldn't like it. But I don't believe in gods."**

**"Oh, you'd better," Mr. D murmured. "Before one of them incinerates you.""**

Percy snorted once more while I forced myself to hide my increduality, clearly, Percy hadn't lost his ignorance over the years like I'd first thought.

"**Grover said, "P-please, sir. He's just lost his mother. He's in shock."**

**"A lucky thing, too,"" **

Percy hissed, obviously he wasn't completely over his mother's temporary death, but he had brightened considerably from how he'd been at the beginning of the chapter.

"**Mr. D grumbled, playing a card. "Bad enough I'm confined to this miserable job, working with boys who don't even believe.'"**

**He waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine."**

_Dionysus ,_the answer came to me suddenly and I was grateful that the gods seemed to lack my ability of mind reading otherwise they might've taken what I'd been thinking as an insult.

"**My jaw dropped, but Chiron hardly looked up.**

**"Mr. D," he warned, "your restrictions."**

**Mr. D looked at the wine and feigned surprise.**

**"Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!"**

**More thunder.**

**Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his card game.**

**Chiron winked at me. "Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."**

**"A wood nymph," I repeated, still staring at the Diet Coke can like it was from outer space.**

**"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time—well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away—the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me." **

We all snickered at the tone.

"**'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha.' Absolutely unfair."**

**Mr. D sounded about six years old, like a pouting little kid."**

"He still does," Percy grumbled and I almost pointed out that he'd sounded like a six year old while making that statement but I refrained myself. How could Percy simply insult the gods like that and get away with it?

"**"And ..." I stammered, "your father is ..."**

**"Di immortales,Chiron," Mr. D said. "I thought you taught this boy the basics. My father is Zeus, of course."**

**I ran through D names from Greek mythology. Wine. The skin of a tiger. The satyrs that all seemed to work here. The way Grover cringed, as if Mr. D were his master.**

**"You're Dionysus," I said. "The god of wine.""**

I nodded in agreement, satisfied.

"**Mr. D rolled his eyes. "What do they say, these days, Grover? Do the children say, 'Well, duh!'?"**

**"Y-yes, Mr. D."**

**"Then, well, duh! Percy Jackson. Did you think I was Aphrodite, perhaps?"**

**"You're a god."**

**"Yes, child."**

**"A god. You.""**

Everyone snickered, either at Percy's disbelief or his nerve to question said god.

"**He turned to look at me straight on, and I saw a kind of purplish fire in his eyes, a hint that this whiny, plump little man was only showing me the tiniest bit of his true nature. I saw visions of grape vines choking unbelievers to death, drunken warriors insane with battle lust, sailors screaming as their hands turned to flippers, their faces elongating into dolphin snouts. I knew that if I pushed him, Mr. D would show me worse things. He would plant a disease in my brain that would leave me wearing a strait-jacket in a rubber room for the rest of my life."**

Esme, Bella and Renesmee stared at the book in horror while Carlisle stared at it in interest.

'**"Would you like to test me, child?" he said quietly.**

**"No. No, sir."**

**The fire died a little. He turned back to his card game. "I believe I win."**

**"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."**

**I thought Mr. D was going to vaporize Chiron right out of his wheelchair, but he just sighed through his nose, as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher." **

"He is," Percy informed us with a grin.

"**He got up, and Grover rose, too.**

**"I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I believe I'll take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, **_**again, **_**about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment.""**

Percy's grin turned into a scowl.

"**Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."**

**Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Percy Jackson. And mind your manners."**

**He swept into the farmhouse, Grover following miserably.**

**"Will Grover be okay?" I asked Chiron.**

**Chiron nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. "Old Dionysus isn't really mad. He just hates his job.**

**He's been ... ah, grounded, I guess you would say, and he can't stand waiting another century before he's allowed to go back to Olympus."**

**"Mount Olympus," I said. "You're telling me there really is a palace there?""**

I rolled my eyes slightly but it was obvious that Percy's ignorance wasn't completely his fault, it seemed no one had been to willing to really explain anything to him yet.

"**"Well now, there's Mount Olympus in Greece. And then there's the home of the gods, the convergence point of their powers, which did indeed used to be on Mount Olympus. It's still called Mount Olympus, out of respect to the old ways, but the palace moves, Percy, just as the gods do."**

**"You mean the Greek gods are here? Like...in **_**America**_**?""**

I blinked along with my entire family, that sure was unexpected.

"**"Well, certainly. The gods move with the heart of the West."**

**"The what?"**

**"Come now, Percy. What you call 'Western civilization.' Do you think it's just an abstract concept? No, it's a living force. A collective consciousness that has burned bright for thousands of years. The gods are part of it. You might even say they are the source of it, or at least, they are tied so tightly to it that they couldn't possibly fade, not unless all of Western civilization were obliterated. The fire started in Greece.**

**Then, as you well know—or as I hope you know, since you passed my course—the heart of the fire moved to Rome, and so did the gods. Oh, different names, perhaps—Jupiter for Zeus, Venus for Aphrodite, and so on—but the same forces, the same gods.""**

"Interesting," Carlisle murmured, rubbing his chin in deep thought.

"**"And then they died.""**

Rosalie gave an unladylike snort. "Yes because that's what _immortality _means."

"**"Died? No. Did the West die? The gods simply moved, to Germany, to France, to Spain, for a while.**

**Wherever the flame was brightest, the gods were there. They spent several centuries in England. All you need to do is look at the architecture.**

**People do not forget the gods. Every place they've ruled, for the last three thousand years, you can see them in paintings, in statues, on the most important buildings. And yes, Percy, of course they are now in your United States. Look at your symbol, the eagle of Zeus. Look at the statue of Prometheus in Rockefeller Center, the Greek facades of your government buildings in Washington. I defy you to find any American city where the Olympians are not prominently displayed in multiple places. Like it or not—and believe me, plenty of people weren't very fond of Rome,"**

Percy grinned, looking once more as if he were thinking of a private joke.

"**-either—America is now the heart of the flame. It is the great power of the West. And so Olympus is here. And we are here."**

**It was all too much, especially the fact that **_**I **_**seemed to be included in Chiron's **_**we, **_**as if I were part of some club."**

"Might as well be," Percy muttered with a shrug,

"**"Who are you, Chiron? Who ... who am I?"**

I stared at Percy curiously, there had to be a reason why we were reading about his life specifically.

"**Chiron smiled. He shifted his weight as if he were going to get up out of his wheelchair, but I knew that was impossible."**

I wasn't so sure.

"**He was paralyzed from the waist down.**

**"Who are you?" he mused. "Well, that's the question we all want answered, isn't it?" **

"Yes," came the collective agreement from my family and I while Percy smiled at us sheepishly.

"**But for now, we should get you a bunk in cabin eleven. There will be new friends to meet. And plenty of time for lessons tomorrow. Besides, there will be s'mores at the campfire tonight, and I simply adore chocolate.""**

I allowed myself a grin, I was enjoying Chiron's personality quite a lot.

"**And then he did rise from his wheelchair. But there was something odd about the way he did it. His blanket fell away from his legs, but the legs didn't move. His waist kept getting longer, rising above his belt. At first, I thought he was wearing very long, white velvet underwear," **

Emmett and Jacob snickered, as was expected by now.

"**but as he kept rising out of the chair, taller than any man, I realized that the velvet underwear wasn't underwear; it was the front of an animal, muscle and sinew under coarse white fur. And the wheelchair wasn't a chair. It was some kind of container, an enormous box on wheels, and it must've been magic, because there's no way it could've held all of him." **

Carlisle looked on, staring at the book in blunt fascination.

"**A leg came out, long and knobby-kneed, with a huge polished hoof. Then another front leg, then hindquarters, and then the box was empty, nothing but a metal shell with a couple of fake human legs attached.**

**I stared at the horse who had just sprung from the wheelchair: a huge white stallion. But where its neck should be was the upper body of my Latin teacher, smoothly grafted to the horse's trunk. **

**"What a relief," the centaur said. "I'd been cooped up in there so long, my fetlocks had fallen asleep."**

Emmett snickered once more.

"**Now, come, Percy Jackson. Let's meet the other campers."**

"It seems the story is about to start picking up," Carlisle observed.

"That's my life you're talking about doc and believe me, I would give anything for it to be too boring to be story worthy," Percy said with mock indignation and clear exasperation in his voice.

**Finally, well as I mentioned, its finally break so I'll update at least two more times before we go on holiday. Anyway, hope it was okay and please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Can't believe I have over a hundred reviews now, its amazing. ****Okay, here's a new chapter and yes I hear everyone begging me to bring in Annabeth and I will, but not yet so unfortunately you will have to be patient but I hope that this chapter and the next few to follow will still be good enough even without Annabeth in them. Thanks. Enjoy.**

Chapter 6:

Considering what Percy'd just told us I knew that what we'd read so far was probably only the tip of the iceberg.

"My turn Nessie," Jacob murmured to my daughter before taking the book and grinning. I guessed it was something to do with the title and my theory was soon proven correct.

"**I BECOME SUPREME LORD OF THE BATHROOM" **Jacob read and once again smiles stretched across some of my family members' faces. Rosalie and I shared an eye roll.

"**Once I got over the fact that my Latin teacher was a horse, we had a nice tour, though I was careful not to walk behind him. I'd done pooper-scooper patrol in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade a few times, and, I'm sorry, I did not trust Chiron's back end the way I trusted his front."**

Emmett roared with laughter while Percy grew a dark shade of red.

"**We passed the volleyball pit. Several of the campers nudged each other. One pointed to the minotaur horn I was carrying. Another said, "That's **_**him**_**.""**

"No wonder you're so full of yourself," Jacob joked and Percy pulled a face.

"You sound just like Thalia.

"**Most of the campers were older than me. Their satyr friends were bigger than Grover, all of them trotting around in orange CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirts, with nothing else to cover their bare shaggy hindquarters."  
**Of course Emmett grinned and I couldn't help the snort of laughter that escaped my mouth though I immediately covered it afterwards, slightly embarrassed by my outburst.

"**I wasn't normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like they were expecting me to do a flip or something.**

**I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot bigger than I'd realized—four stories tall, sky blue with white trim, like an upscale seaside resort."**

"It sounds beautiful," Emse observed and I watched as a soft smile crossed Percy's face.

"It is," he murmured, obviously deep in thought.

"**I was checking out the brass eagle weather vane on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched."**

"By who," Bella questioned but Percy made a noise of disgust and didn't answer.

"**"What's up there?" I asked Chiron.**

**He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."**

**"Somebody lives there?"**

**"No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."**

**I got the feeling he was being truthful. But I was also sure something had moved that curtain."**

"A ghost?" Alice mused but Percy shook his head.

"If only," he stated with a dry chuckle.

"**"Come along, Percy," Chiron said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."**

**We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe.**

**Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants and Mount Olympus. "It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."**

**He said Mr. D had this effect on fruit-bearing plants: they just went crazy when he was around."**

_Made sense, _I thought, nodding absently to myself.

"**It worked best with wine grapes, but Mr. D was restricted from growing those, so they grew strawberries instead.**

**I watched the satyr playing his pipe. His music was causing lines of bugs to leave the strawberry patch in every direction, like refugees fleeing a fire. I wondered if Grover could work that kind of magic with music." **

"Not at the time, no," Percy answered himself and I stared at him in interest, this world he was exposed to was so much more of a culture than vampires and shapeshifters but then, it was Greek Mythology so of course it would be.

""**I wondered if he was still inside the farmhouse, getting chewed out by Mr. D. **

**"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. "I mean ... he was a good protector. Really."**

**Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horses back like a saddle. "Grover has big dreams, Percy. Perhaps bigger than are reasonable." **

I didn't miss the small smug smile that crossed Percy's face but I couldn't guess at the thoughts behind the smile.

"**To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."**

**"But he did that!"**

**"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate ... ah ... fate of your mother. And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part.""**

Percy cringed visibly at that.

"**I wanted to protest. None of what happened was Grover's fault. I also felt really, really guilty." **

It seemed he still did, even after all these years.

"**If I hadn't given Grover the slip at the bus station, he might not have gotten in trouble.**

**"He'll get a second chance, won't he?"**

**Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that **_**was **_**Grover's second chance, Percy."**

"But what happened the first time?" Bella and Renesmee asked at the same time, both looking confused. I smiled slightly, like mother like daughter.

""**The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age..."**

**"How old is he?"**

**"Oh, twenty-eight.""**

"What!" I and most of the others exclaimed shocked by the announcement.

"He's immortal!" Rosalie demanded and Percy blinked, probably overwhelmed by all the reactions.

"Um no, he's not immortal but just wait…." Percy trailed off, indicating for Jacob to continue reading.

"**"What! And he's in sixth grade?"**

**"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Percy. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle school student for the past six years.""**

I watched, half amused and halfway sharing my family's horror so clearly displayed on their faces while both Charlie and Percy looked grim.

"**"That's horrible."**

**"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career... ."**

**"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"**

**Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"**

**But I wasn't quite ready to let the subject drop. Something had occurred to me when Chiron talked about my mother's fate, as if he were intentionally avoiding the word **_**death. **_**The beginnings of an idea—a tiny, hopeful fire—started forming in my mind."**

I blinked surprised by Percy's observation. Chiron's choice of words hadn't really struck me as strange, I'd simply assumed that he was trying to be sensitive towards Percy's situation but now I wasn't so sure. After all, he had made the comment about Percy getting over his mother being used as a myth, that hadn't exactly shown his sensitivity towards the situation.

"**"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real ..."**

**"Yes, child?"**

**"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?""**

I watched Percy suspiciously. Percy didn't look like the type to give up on an idea once it appeared, so, if he really was planning on bringing his mother back from the Underworld, how had he survived?

"**Chiron's expression darkened.**

**"Yes, child." He paused, as if choosing his words carefully.**

**"There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now ... until we know more... I would urge you to put that out of your mind."**

**"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"**

**"Come, Percy. Let's see the woods.""**

"He's really terrible with changing subjects and motivational speeches but he's a good mentor," Percy told us, the fondness he held for the centaur obvious in his eyes.

"**As we got closer, I realized how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans."**

Jacob snorted and I couldn't help grinning at the irony.

"**Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."**

**"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"**

My smile grew slightly at Percy's obvious ignorance.

"**"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"**

**"My own—?"**

**"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armory later."**

**I wanted to ask what kind of summer camp had an armory, but there was too much else to think about, so the tour continued. We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables (which Chiron didn't seem to like very much)," **

"Wonder why," Jacob snorted and Percy grinned.

"**-the javelin range, the sing-along amphitheater, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.**

**"Sword and spear fights?" I asked.**

**"Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually." **

"Usually?" Bella questioned looking uneasy but Percy simply shrugged.

"**Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."**

**Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in white Grecian columns on a hill overlooking the sea.**

**There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.**

**"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.**

**Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird. "We still have to eat, don't we?"" **

Jasper, Jacob, Emmett and I grinned at each other at that.

"**I decided to drop the subject.**

**Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I'd ever seen."**

Percy nodded absentmindedly, seeming to agree with himself.

"**Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked absolutely nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory."**

I smirked, well that building, in itself sounded quite strange.

"**Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass. Seven seemed to be made of solid gold,"**

"What!" Rosalie screeched, eyes wide but no one responded to her reaction.

"**-which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at. They all faced a commons area about the size of a soccer field, dotted with Greek statues, fountains, flower beds, and a couple of basketball hoops (which were more my speed)."**

Well, that explained why he Jacob and Emmett seemed to get on so well.

"**In the center of the field was a huge stone-lined firepit. Even though it was a warm afternoon, the hearth smoldered.**

**A girl about nine years old was tending the flames, poking the coals with a stick."**

A soft smile graced Percy's features when she was mentioned.

"**The pair of cabins at the head of the field, numbers one and two, looked like his-and-hers mausoleums, big white marble boxes with heavy columns in front. Cabin one was the biggest and bulkiest of the twelve. Its polished bronze doors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them. Cabin two was more graceful somehow, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.**

**"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.**

**"Correct," Chiron said.**

**"Their cabins look empty."**

**"Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one or two."**

**Okay. So each cabin had a different god, like a mascot."**

"Not quite, I think," Carlisle murmured, looking to Percy for confirmation and Percy nodded.

"**Twelve cabins for the twelve Olympians. But why would some be empty?**

**I stopped in front of the first cabin on the left, cabin three.**

**It wasn't high and mighty like cabin one, but long and low and solid. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor. I peeked inside the open doorway and Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"**

**Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore at Montauk."**

Somehow what Jacob had just read confirmed what my mind had been toying with for a while now, Percy was a son of Poseidon.

"**The interior walls glowed like abalone. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. But there was no sign anyone had ever slept there. The place felt so sad and lonely, I was glad when Chiron put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Come along, Percy."**

**Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers."**

"Why would some of the cabins be empty," Bella questioned with a frown and Percy sighed.

"Different reason really," was all the answer he gave and I smiled slightly at the frustration noticeable on Bella's face. My wife was sharp and, like me, didn't like being left out of the loop so it was understandably that she would be frustrated and it seemed she wasn't used to someone with the same observation skills as her. The thing that made it worse with Percy is that I could tell that he was about ten times more stubborn than Bella and he was invisible to Alice's sight.

"**Number five was bright red—a real nasty paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and fists. The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway," **

I raised an eyebrow at that, pondering the different gods the cabin could possibly represent. Eres, Ares or maybe Phobos or Deimos.

"**-and its eyes seemed to follow me. Inside I could see a bunch of mean-looking kids, both girls and boys, arm wrestling and arguing with each other while rock music blared. The loudest was a girl maybe thirteen or fourteen. She wore a size XXXL CAMP HALF-BLOOD T-shirt under a camouflage jacket. She zeroed in on me and gave me an evil sneer. She reminded me of Nancy Bobofit, though the camper girl was much bigger and tougher looking, and her hair was long and stringy, and brown instead of red.**

**I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed."**

I stared at the book curiously.

"**"No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are a wild and barbaric folk, I'm afraid. You might encounter them in the wilderness, or at major sporting events."**

"Major sporting events?" I parroted, confused.

"Yeah," Percy said, obviously trying to keep a straight face but the upwards tugging of his lips gave him away. "'Suppose you could say some of them are social," he explained before resting his hand in front of his mouth, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

"**But you won't see any here."**

**"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really ..."**

**He smiled down at me. **_**"The **_**Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, Percy, I am.""**

"But how did he survive?" Carlisle questioned with a frown.

Jacob snickered and held up his hand before anyone could question him about it.

"**"But, shouldn't you be dead?""**

"Your blunt," I couldn't help observing and smirked when I noticed Percy's blush.

"So's Rosalie," he pointed out studying his shoes with interest and missing the glare Rosalie sent his way.

"True," I grinned, I couldn't help noticing that I was slowly starting to relax around Percy but I was still unsure whether or not that was a good thing.

"**Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know about **_**should **_**be. The truth is, I **_**can't **_**be dead. You see, eons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish ... and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed.""**

Carlisle nodded in understanding and Percy smirked. "He doesn't seem to realize that he'll always be needed," he explained with a roll of his eyes.

"**I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list.**

**"Doesn't it ever get boring?"**

**"No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring."**

**"Why depressing?""**

I glanced over at Percy, clearly he'd been sheltered for most of his life before he was exposed to this world.

"**Chiron seemed to turn hard of hearing again.**

**"Oh, look," he said. "Annabeth is waiting for us.""**

Percy smiled at the mention of Annabeth and a glance at Jasper's face confirmed that Percy was either really happy or in love, maybe both.

"**The blond girl I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of the last cabin on the left, number eleven.**

**When we reached her, she looked me over critically, like she was still thinking about how much I drooled."**

Percy blushed but he was still smiling while Emmett and Jasper snickered.

"**I tried to see what she was reading, but I couldn't make out the title. I thought my dyslexia was acting up. Then I realized the title wasn't even English. The letters looked Greek to me. I mean, literally Greek."**

Jacob and I snorted at that.

"**There were pictures of temples and statues and different kinds of columns, like those in an architecture book.**

**"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have masters' archery class at noon. Would you take Percy from here?"**

**"Yes, sir."**

**"Cabin eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home."**

**Out of all the cabins, eleven looked the most like a regular old summer camp cabin, with the emphasis on **_**old. **_**The threshold was worn down, the brown paint peeling. Over the doorway was one of those doctor's symbols, a winged pole with two snakes wrapped around it. What did they call it...? A caduceus.**

My mind flitted around for a second before coming to the answer, Hermes.

"**Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds.**

**Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor. It looked like a gym where the Red Cross had set up an evacuation center.**

**Chiron didn't go in. The door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully.**

**"Well, then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Percy. I'll see you at dinner."**

**He galloped away toward the archery range.**

**I stood in the doorway, looking at the kids. They weren't bowing anymore." **

"Why would they be," Rosalie sneered and Percy shot her a glare but otherwise ignored her.

"**They were staring at me, sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.**

**"Well?" Annabeth prompted. "Go on."**

**So naturally I tripped coming in the door and made a total fool of myself." **

Jacob, Emmett and I chorused though I was staring at Bella as I said it, earning a glare from my wife though I could only smile. After all, she tripped her first day in the Biology class. Shifting my attention back to Percy, I admitted to being slightly amazed that he'd been so clumsy, he seemed to sure footed and agile now.

"**There were some snickers from the campers, but none of them said anything.**

**Annabeth announced, "Percy Jackson, meet cabin eleven."**

**"Regular or undetermined?" somebody asked.**

**I didn't know what to say, but Annabeth said, "Undetermined."**

**Everybody groaned."**

Esme pursed her lips, a look she got when she was about to scold someone.

"**A guy who was a little older than the rest came forward. "Now, now, campers. That's what we're here for. Welcome, Percy. You can have that spot on the floor, right over there."**

**The guy was about nineteen, and he looked pretty cool. He was tall and muscular, with short-cropped sandy hair and a friendly smile. He wore an orange tank top, cutoffs, sandals, and a leather necklace with five different-colored clay beads. The only thing unsettling about his appearance was a thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like an old knife slash."**

I raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"**"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I glanced over and could've sworn she was blushing." **

Emmett gave a howl of laughter, slapping his hand on his thigh. "A twelve year old in love with a seventeen year old!" he exclaimed but Percy looked unamused, glaring out in front of him with obvious jealousy.

"**She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counsellor for now."**

Again my eyebrow shot up at the implication of that statement.

"**"For now?" I asked.**

**"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Cabin eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travelers."**

**I looked at the tiny section of floor they'd given me. I had nothing to put there to mark it as my own, no luggage, no clothes, no sleeping bag. Just the Minotaur's horn. I thought about setting that down, but then I remembered that Hermes was also the god of thieves.**

"Nice," Emmett said in obvious approval.

"**I looked around at the campers' faces, some sullen and suspicious, some grinning stupidly, some eyeing me as if they were waiting for a chance to pick my pockets.**

**"How long will I be here?" I asked.**

**"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined."**

**"How long will that take?"**

**The campers all laughed."**

"What's wrong?" Renesmee questioned, her brow furrowing in confusion and Percy sighed, indicating for Jacob to continue reading as way of explanation.

"**"Come on," Annabeth told me. "I'll show you the volleyball court."**

**"I've already seen it.""**

Groans were heard around the room while Percy went back to studying his shoes, red faced once more.

"**"Come on." She grabbed my wrist and dragged me outside. I could hear the kids of cabin eleven laughing behind me.**

**When we were a few feet away, Annabeth said, "Jackson, you have to do better than that."**

**"What?"**

**She rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "I can't believe I thought you were the one.""**

"What did she mean by that?" Bella asked curiously.

"Annabeth wanted a quest, a mission of sorts, so she could go back outside camp and Chiron told her that her quest would arrive when the right camper came along. So she suspected every new camper of being her ticket out, me included," Percy explained nonchalantly but I got the feeling that he was forcing it somehow.

"**"What's your problem?" I was getting angry now. "All I know is, I kill some bull guy—"**

**"Don't talk like that!" Annabeth told me. "You know how many kids at this camp wish they'd had your chance?"**

**"To get killed?"**

**"To fight the Minotaur! What do you think we train for?""**

Emmett laughed again. "She's crazy," he laughed and Percy sighed, shaking his head.

"She's Annabeth," he stated as if that explained everything.

"**I shook my head. "Look, if the thing I fought really was **_**the **_**Minotaur, the same one in the stories ..."**

**"Yes."**

**"Then there's only one.""**

I nodded my head, understanding where Percy was going with his question. How could the Minotaur still be alive?

"**"Yes."**

**"And he died, like, a gajillion years ago, right?" **

Bella looked amused. "Is gajillion a word?" she giggled and Percy grinned shrugging his shoulders.

""**Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So ..."**

**"Monsters don't die, Percy. They can be killed. But they don't die.""**

"Interesting," Carlisle mused, rubbing his chin, deep in thought.

"**"Oh, thanks. That clears it up.""**

I rolled my eyes, Percy's constant sarcasm reminded me incredibly of Jacob's own while we'd still been feuding over Bella.

**"They don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they are primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they re-form.""**

"That's horrible," Esme gasped and Percy gave a grim nod.

"**I thought about Mrs. Dodds. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally, with a sword—"**

**"The Fur ... I mean, your math teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad."**

**"How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"**

**"You talk in your sleep.""**

Emmett and I snickered, I couldn't believe all the similarity's Bella shared with her cousin.

"**"You almost called her something. A Fury? They're Hades' torturers, right?""**

I groaned, it just keeps getting better and better.

"**Annabeth glanced nervously at the ground, as if she expected it to open up and swallow her. "You shouldn't call them by name, even here. We call them the Kindly Ones, if we have to speak of them at all."**

**"Look, is there anything we **_**can **_**say without it thundering?"**

**I sounded whiny,"**

I nodded absently in agreement.

"**-even to myself, but right then I didn't care. "Why do I have to stay in cabin eleven, anyway? Why is everybody so crowded together? There are plenty of empty bunks right over there.""**

"Why is that?" Alice wondered, her brow furrowed as she regarded the book carefully.

"**I pointed to the first few cabins, and Annabeth turned pale. "You don't just choose a cabin, Percy. It depends on who your parents are. Or ... your parent.""**

"That makes sense," Alice conceded and Carlisle nodded, probably having already guessed it long ago.

"**She stared at me, waiting for me to get it."**

"Good luck," Jacob mumbled and Percy mock glared at him.

"**"My mom is Sally Jackson," I said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station. At least, she used to."**

**"I'm sorry about your mom, Percy. But that's not what I mean. I'm talking about your other parent. Your dad.""**

"They're not the sympathetic type," Charlie observed, speaking up for the first time since the start of the chapter though I'd long since learned that Charlie preferred being quiet. Percy shrugged.

"Not really,"

"**"He's dead. I never knew him."**

**Annabeth sighed. Clearly, she'd had this conversation before with other kids. "Your father's not dead, Percy."**

**"How can you say that? You know him?"**

**"No, of course not."**

**"Then how can you say—"**

**"Because I know **_**you. **_**You wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."**

**"You don't know anything about me."**

**"No?" She raised an eyebrow. "I bet you moved around from school to school. I bet you were kicked out of a lot of them."**

**"How—"**

**"Diagnosed with dyslexia. Probably ADHD, too."**

**I tried to swallow my embarrassment. "What does that have to do with anything?""**

I suddenly felt bad for Percy, clearly he felt that his disorders somehow made him weak yet he'd managed to scare a group of vampire with his mere presence, he lacked a crucial amount of confidence that could possibly become a weakness.

"**"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right? That's because your mind is hardwired for ancient Greek. And the ADHD—you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battlefield reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Percy, not too little. Your senses are better than a regular mortal's. Of course the teachers want you medicated. Most of them are monsters. They don't want you seeing them for what they are.""**

I listened attentively, glad to finally receive some sort of explanation and I had to admit that it was interesting. Carlisle seemed to agree with me as well.

"**"You sound like ... you went through the same thing?"**

**"Most of the kids here did." **

"Not all demigods have ADHD and dyslexia though I'm not really sure why, Annabeth would probably know.

""**If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."**

**"Ambrosia and nectar."**

**"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a normal kid. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood."**

**A half-blood.**

**I was reeling with so many questions I didn't know where to start.**

**Then a husky voice yelled, "Well! A newbie!"**

**I looked over. The big girl from the ugly red cabin was sauntering toward us." **

I raised an eyebrow, curious if this would turn into a fight and if it did, would Percy be able to beat her. Looking at Percy my guess was probably not since this girl obviously had more training then Percy had at that point.

""**She had three other girls behind her, all big and ugly and mean looking like her, all wearing camo jackets.**

**"Clarisse," Annabeth sighed. "Why don't you go polish your spear or something?"**

**"Sure, Miss Princess," the big girl said. "So I can run you through with it Friday night."**

**''Erre es korakas!"Annabeth said, which I somehow understood was Greek for 'Go to the crows!' though I had a feeling it was a worse curse than it sounded. "You don't stand a chance."**

**"We'll pulverize you," Clarisse said, but her eye twitched. Perhaps she wasn't sure she could follow through on the threat."**

I couldn't help still feeling surprise by Percy's observation skills.

"**She turned toward me. "Who's this little runt?"**

**"Percy Jackson," Annabeth said, "meet Clarisse, Daughter of Ares.""**

I grinned, it had been a close guess.

"**I blinked. "Like ... the war god?"**

**Clarisse sneered. "You got a problem with that?"**

**"No," I said, recovering my wits. "It explains the bad smell.""**

Jasper, Jacob, Emmett and I snickered at that and I found I had a new appreciation for Percy's sense of humor as well as his admirable nerve. Though unfortunately, it was probably going to get him into trouble.

"**Clarisse growled. "We got an initiation ceremony for newbies, Prissy."**

**"Percy."**

**"Whatever. Come on, I'll show you."**

**"Clarisse—" Annabeth tried to say.**

**"Stay out of it, wise girl."**

**Annabeth looked pained, but she did stay out of it, and I didn't really want her help. I was the new kid. I had to earn my own rep.**

Emmett nodded his head in obvious agreement.

"**I handed Annabeth my minotaur horn and got ready to fight, but before I knew it, Clarisse had me by the neck and was dragging me toward a cinder-block building that I knew immediately was the bathroom.**

**I was kicking and punching. I'd been in plenty of fights before, but this big girl Clarisse had hands like iron. She dragged me into the girls' bathroom." **

Emmett pulled a face of sympathy and I amused myself with the thought of this Clarisse girl trying to drag Emmett into the bathroom instead of Percy.

"**There was a line of toilets on one side and a line of shower stalls down the other. It smelled just like any public bathroom," **

My family and I frowned, wrinkling our noses at the thought of the smell while Jacob pulled a disgusted face.

"**-and I was thinking—as much as I **_**could **_**think with Clarisse ripping my hair out—that if this place belonged to the gods, they should've been able to afford classier johns."**

All of us smothered snickers at that, not wanting to offend said gods.

"**Clarisse's friends were all laughing, and I was trying to find the strength I'd used to fight the Minotaur, but it just wasn't there."**

"So you're insticts only take over if there's real danger?" Jasper question, obviously intrigued by what made demigods tick.

"**"Like he's 'Big Three' material,""**

"Big Three?" Charlie asked in his gruff voice.

"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, they're the three oldest gods, practically rulers of the three parts of Earth." Percy explained, his eyes momentarily wondering to the window. "You have a beach on La Push right?" he added, looking towards Jacob for an answer.

"Um yeah," Jacob agreed with an uncertain chuckle.

Percy nodded, smiling slightly in gratitude but didn't say anything. I couldn't help wondering what he was thinking now.

"**Clarisse said as she pushed me toward one of the toilets. "Yeah, right. Minotaur probably fell over laughing, he was so stupid looking."**

**Her friends snickered.**

**Annabeth stood in the corner, watching through her fingers."**

Percy snickered at that.

"**Clarisse bent me over on my knees and started pushing my head toward the toilet bowl. It reeked like rusted pipes and, well, like what goes into toilets." **

Again my family and I wrinkled our noses and this time Jacob and Charlie joined in as well.

"**I strained to keep my head up. I was looking at the scummy water, thinking, I will not go into that. I won't."**

I leaned forward, intrigued by the emphasis he was putting on it.

"**Then something happened. I felt a tug in the pit of my stomach. I heard the plumbing rumble," **

"No way," Jacob breathed before continuing reading. Percy meanwhile wore a large grin on his face.

"**-the pipes shudder. Clarisse's grip on my hair loosened. Water shot out of the toilet, making an arc straight over my head, and the next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the bathroom tiles with Clarisse screaming behind me.**

**I turned just as water blasted out of the toilet again, hitting Clarisse straight in the face so hard it pushed her down onto her butt. The water stayed on her like the spray from a fire hose, pushing her backward into a shower stall.**

**She struggled, gasping, and her friends started coming toward her. But then the other toilets exploded, too, and six more streams of toilet water blasted them back. The showers acted up, too, and together all the fixtures sprayed the camouflage girls right out of the bathroom, spinning them around like pieces of garbage being washed away."**

I willed myself not to gap at what Jacob had just read, Percy had displayed an immense force of power for a human and hadn't even blacked out like I would've expected a human to do. Did that mean all demigods were that powerful or was it simply because Percy was a child of the Big Three?

"**As soon as they were out the door, I felt the tug in my gut lessen, and the water shut off as quickly as it had started.**

**The entire bathroom was flooded. Annabeth hadn't been spared. She was dripping wet, but she hadn't been pushed out the door. She was standing in exactly the same place, staring at me in shock.**

**I looked down and realized I was sitting in the only dry spot in the whole room." **

"**There was a circle of dry floor around me. I didn't have one drop of water on my clothes. Nothing.**

I smiled, that at least, was a very convenient gift.

**I stood up, my legs shaky.**

**Annabeth said, "How did you ..."**

**"I don't know."**

I saw Carlisle brow furrow. "Why would she not have realized you were a son of Poseidon then?"

Percy sighed. "She did but she was in denial since… her mother and my father aren't the best of friends," I got a feeling there was more to it than that but didn't share this opinion.

"**We walked to the door. Outside, Clarisse and her friends were sprawled in the mud, and a bunch of other campers had gathered around to gawk. Clarisse's hair was flattened across her face. Her camouflage jacket was sopping and she smelled like sewage. She gave me a look of absolute hatred.**

**"You are dead, new boy. You are totally dead."**

**I probably should have let it go," **

"Probably," Charlie agreed though his expression told me that he dreaded knowing that Percy probably wouldn't.

"**-but I said, "You want to gargle with toilet water again, Clarisse? Close your mouth.""**

Emmett and Jacob howled with laughter while Jasper and I simply snickered.

"**Her friends had to hold her back. They dragged her toward cabin five, while the other campers made way to avoid her flailing feet."**

I smirked at the image that my mind drew up at the words.

"**Annabeth stared at me. I couldn't tell whether she was just grossed out or angry at me for dousing her.**

**"What?" I demanded. "What are you thinking?"**

**"I'm thinking," she said, "that I want you on my team for capture the flag.""**

Percy grumbled at that but didn't elaborate when he realized that everyone was looking at us, simply folding his arms and staring pointedly at the book as he waited for the beginning of the next chapter.

**Well, there you go, review and tell me if you enjoyed it. Thanks. **


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